


We're Not Broken, Just Bent

by JoshNeku



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: (OC is Haru), BeatHaru, BeatOC, F/M, JoshNeku, M/M, ShoKariya, Slow Burn, Such a slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-05
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-01-18 06:29:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1418402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoshNeku/pseuds/JoshNeku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The SCIB investigates homicides, kidnappings, and drug busts. The members of the squad each have their own pasts that they would like to forget. Their pasts have changed them, both for better or worse, but none of them are broken because of them. They could be mended and fixed with the right time and company. They weren't broken, only bent. JoshNeku. ShoKariya. AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. When Neku Met Joshua

**Author's Note:**

> Umm, hi guys xD New story if you can't tell and my first TWEWY one! :D So please be nice.
> 
> This is a ShoKariya and JoshNeku. :3
> 
> So this is about 3,500 words without this author's note xD Possibly the most I've had in a chapter. But don't expect that every chapter.
> 
> Anyway, I don't own TWEWY. ):
> 
> Please Read and Review. :)

Neku Sakuraba was jolted awake when he heard a desperate scream.

He lay still, blue eyes gazing at the ceiling above him without really seeing it. A few seconds later, after his body had relaxed and racing heart had calmed somewhat, Neku sat up, raking a hand through his spiky orange hair which refused to be tamed.

The scream had just been another nightmare; if it had been him, Neku was certain Shiki would have come crashing into the room to see what the matter was.

The lanky twenty-two-year-old glanced at the clock sitting on the nightstand beside his bed to see what time it was.

6:10 A.M.

Forty minutes before he had to depart for work.

With a groan, Neku stretched his arms above his head, arching his back a bit with a slight yawn.

He could hear faint clinking in the distance and smelled the eggs and bacon even though his closed door; Shiki was awake.

_She must have plans with Eri today _, Neku thought as he swung his legs out from under the covers, sitting on the edge of the mattress in just his grey boxers. _Probably shopping again_. __

___He sat there a few more seconds, not really having enough energy to stand up, before he finally rose to his feet and grabbed the purple headphones resting beside his alarm clock, slipping them around his neck._ _ _

____After sliding a white, tube-shaped MP3 player attached to a white lanyard around his neck, Neku pulled on his white shorts which reached to his knees and threaded a black belt though the loops, connecting the buckle before letting go._ _ _ _

____The belt sagged slightly, tight enough to keep his pants stable, but loose enough the buckle could be seen even under a shirt._ _ _ _

____Neku dropped his black flip phone into one of the two large pockets the shorts sported, the tops of the pockets dyed purple with a pair of yellow buttons on either side of the stripes._ _ _ _

____After snapping on his yellow sweatband around his left wrist, Neku exited his room and came into the short hallway that lead to the open floor kitchen and living room._ _ _ _

____Standing at the stove was Shiki, his roommate and an old friend of the family; however, Neku had never met her until he had just entered high school._ _ _ _

____Two years after the incident._ _ _ _

____Shiki was a year older than Neku with short brown, almost black at certain angles, hair and brown eyes shielded by round glasses._ _ _ _

____She wore black jeans with a beige skirt covered in white palm tree-like designs over them. Beneath her loose fitting green jacket was a black V-neck T-shirt; Neku could faintly see the silver hairclip Shiki usually wore on the left side of her head._ _ _ _

____Shiki was described as mousy most of the time, but Neku had known her for long enough that he knew that was not true._ _ _ _

____She and her long-time friend Eri worked as fashion designers and Shiki was also taking on photography._ _ _ _

____Shiki was passionate about her job, sometimes self-doubting her work, but she never quit._ _ _ _

____Neku knew she was good; Mr. Mew, the stuffed black cat doll she always carried around with her and insisted 'he' sit at the table, was a testament to that._ _ _ _

____"Good morning, Shiki." Neku greeted casually, still standing at the entrance to the kitchen-living room combo._ _ _ _

____"Oh, good morning-!" Shiki turned halfway around with a grin, but upon seeing Neku, she instantly whirled around, her back once again to Neku as a small squeak escaped her lips._ _ _ _

____"N…Neku, please put on a shirt!" Shiki squawked, a hot blush covering her face and causing her glasses to fog up as she resisted the urge to snap pictures of the half-naked Neku._ _ _ _

____Neku glanced down at his chest with a blank expression before he turned around and returned to his room._ _ _ _

____Once she was certain Neku was gone, Shiki released a sigh, her entire body relaxing._ _ _ _

____That was a first._ _ _ _

____Neku had so many walls around his heart and himself that no matter what Shiki did she could never get him to lower his guard._ _ _ _

____Neku coming in without being fully dressed was a chink in the armor._ _ _ _

____It made Shiki feel better knowing that he at least trusted her enough to forget his shirt._ _ _ _

_____'All the world needs is me.'_ _ _ _ _

_______'Shut up, you're annoying.'_ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________'Stop following me.'_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________'Friends only drag me down.'_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________The first time they had met, Neku had said those things to her and several times after when Shiki refused to leave him alone._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Shiki had never really noticed when Neku had finally decided to give up and allow her to stay by his side with Eri occasionally joining them._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________But they weren't friends._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________They were far from friends._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Neku came back several minutes later wearing his sleeveless, high-collared purple-grey shirt that had the purple stripe, with the yellow border, going down the center._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Better?" Neku asked, his mouth hidden by the collar; Shiki was surprised he still had his headphones around his neck instead of covering his ears._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________After placing a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon for both her and Neku on the table, Shiki faced Neku and scanned him up and down, making a small 'hmm'-ing noise as she did so._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________She then licked her fingers and waved Neku closer._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Come here."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"What? No!" Neku put his hands to his hair protectively, knowing what Shiki's plan was._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Just a little—"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"No!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Shiki chuckled, holding her hands up defensively as she sat down at the table._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Okay, okay."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Neku stared at Shiki warily before also sitting at the table, noticing with slight irritation that Mr. Mew was placed in the seat between them, silently sitting on the chair._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Neku's fingers itched to put his headphones up to cover his ears and immerse himself in music, but Shiki had a strict No Headphones at the Table policy._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"So, you're going shopping with Eri today?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Shiki started slightly at the question, obviously not expecting any sort of conversation._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Yeah," Shiki nodded a bit, taking another bit of her eggs. "We're going to Pork City in Shibuya and maybe Spain Hill."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Downing a small glass of orange juice, Neku gave a grunt of affirmation._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"You want any clothes from there?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Neku shook his head, "No, I'm fine."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Neku…" Shiki fixed the orange-haired man with a challenging stare._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Shiki." Neku returned the gaze coolly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________A few seconds later, Shiki glanced to the side with a defeated huff, resting her chin in her right hand._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"You never let me pick clothes for you." the brunette grumbled._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Last time I allowed you to do that, I ended up wearing a silk T-shirt while you 'washed' my other clothes." Neku stood up, picking up his plate and glass, and dropped the dishes into the sink._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"But you looked so handsome in silk!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Neku grimaced as he sat down near the front door and slipped on his shoes which mimicked his shirt and had four gold-colored buttons with white straps to replace shoelaces._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"What about Tigre Punks?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"If you found some good ones, I'd consider it," Neku stood up, tapping his shoes against the ground to get them in a comfortable position, before he opened the front door. "I'll see you at four if there aren't any cases."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Bye!" Shiki waved with a grin, Neku half-heartedly returning the gesture._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________After the door clicked shut, Shiki sighed and idly stroked Mr. Mew's head._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Oh, Mr. Mew, whatever shall we do with him?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

____________Neku and Shiki lived in a small apartment close to the government building in western Tokyo._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Shibuya and Shinjuku were practically a stone's throw away from where they lived, five to ten minutes by train and about fifteen by car._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________The building where Neku worked was practically diagonal to the lofty government office and only took about ten minutes to reach by foot._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Upon entering, the building appeared to be like any other office with a receptionist desk where a pretty blonde woman who appeared to be in her early twenties sat answering any phone calls concerning new cases which would then be directed to Sanae; Neku knew, however, that the woman was well into her forties despite her youthful appearance._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Neku flashed his ID badge to the woman more out of habit than necessity, headphones already covering his ears to drown out the world's noise._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________On entering the main room of the first floor, there were two desks each with the newest PC computers, a couch with a low coffee table in front of it positioned close to the entryway, and a hallway at the far end that branched off into smaller corridors which lead to the forensics room and morgue._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Behind one of the low walls situated at the rear of one desk were a set of stairs which lead to the second floor where the director's office was._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Neku wasn't surprised as he made his way to the couch, which he considered to be his desk and office, when an arm was slung around his shoulders and a bright voice said, "Morning, Phones!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Good morning, Mr. H." Neku replied without missing a beat, removing the man's arm from around his shoulders._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Hanekoma, or as many called him Mr. H, was the supervisor of Neku's squad though Neku took some of Hanekoma's duties upon himself._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Hanekoma stood four inches above Neku's five foot ten height and sometimes seemed wiser than his thirty years._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________He had shaggy, short black hair swept up into small peaks, black eyes that were partially hidden by the sunglasses perched on his nose, and he had a habit of scratching at the stubble along his chin and cheeks or rubbing the back of his neck whenever he was thinking._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________True to his word of being a 'hip café barista', Hanekoma wore black slacks, a white shirt unbuttoned slightly to reveal his collarbone, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a black sleeveless vest over the shirt, and black, open toe sandals._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Here, I brought coffee." Hanekoma held out a cup of coffee, the watch on his left wrist glinting a bit._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Neku should have known better than to take the coffee from Hanekoma as the man had a habit of mixing new blends of coffee for his café WildKat in Shibuya and testing his new experiments on Neku._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________The moment the coffee touched his tongue, Neku spat it back out and glared at the cup in disgust._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"What is this?!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Vanilla coffee," Hanekoma said innocently. "How was it?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"It tastes like a cat pissed in it!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"What? Give me that!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Hanekoma snatched the coffee from Neku and took a sip of it only to do what Neku had done several seconds ago._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Maybe I messed up on the recipe somehow?" Hanekoma rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at the coffee in confusion. "Maybe more vanilla extract?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Neku abandoned Hanekoma to his musings, heading toward the vending machines in the tiny lounge adjacent to the office._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Standing in front of the machine, Neku looked at his choices before mentally picking one and lightly putting his foot against the bottom of the appliance, silently counting down from four as he moved his foot toward the bottom center of the machine._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Giving it a light kick, the can of chilled coffee dropped down and Neku retrieved his prize._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"You know you're stealing from the company by doing that."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________As Neku opened the can, he glanced to his left to see Kariya leaning against the doorway, hands stuffed in the sleeveless black hoodie he wore and a stick of his favorite flavor lollipop—bean paste—sticking out of his mouth._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Kariya was two years older than Neku, standing an inch taller than Hanekoma even if he slouched most of the time, and was the coroner/medical examiner of the team._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________With his orange hair, held up by four black x-shaped hair clips to make his hair appear flame-like, Kariya could have passed for Neku's older brother or even a cousin, especially with his lanky stature._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Along with the hoodie which had a white ribcage on the front, the sternum cut through partway as the zipper was pulled down slightly to reveal a white tank top beneath the jacket, Kariya wore brown jeans with a long chain with cross-shaped links hanging from his left pocket and white shoes._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Taking a drink of the coffee, Neku raised an eyebrow as he asked, "You going to tell someone?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________With a sigh, Kariya flicked at the stray strand of hair hanging down the left side of his face as he straightened, brown eyes staring at Neku impassively._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Just thought you should know," Kariya drawled lifting his shoulders in a lazy shrug as he removed the sucker from his mouth with his right hand, using his other hand to push up the square, orange-tinted glasses on his nose. "You're showin' me your hand, boss."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"I'm not your boss." Neku muttered as Kariya strolled toward the vending machine and leaned beside the one containing the drinks._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Kariya didn't respond as he closed his eyes halfway, giving another shrug as an answer, and struck the front of the vending machine with his elbow._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Neku watched neutrally as Kariya leaned down to retrieve a Pepsi can._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"So where's Uzuki?" he asked as Kariya opened the can._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Last I saw, trying to beat Rhyme at Go Fish." Kariya responded, taking a sip of the soft drink. "And losing horribly."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Uzuki was a member on Neku's team, a junior to his senior, and an old friend of Kariya's._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Uzuki's nickname was Pinky because of her short pink hair and the vibrant pink lipstick she always seemed to wear; saying the nickname to Uzuki, however, cause her to screech, "Leave my hair out of this!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________At Kariya's age and Neku's height, Uzuki wore white knee-high boots to make herself appear taller than she was, also wearing black shorts and a navy blue long-sleeved shirt cut up enough to expose her navel._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Rhyme was the youngest of the group, at only twenty, and three inches shorter than Neku._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________She was the forensics analysist._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Her short blonde hair was hidden by the black beanie she constantly wore, a white skull pin attached to the side of the hat._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________With a pale red, almost pink, long-sleeved shirt that had a black skull shaped like a heart and crossbones on the front, white shorts reaching to her knees with flaps on the front and back connected by two thin white strips, and yellow shoes with black toes, Uzuki commented on how Rhyme appeared to be a 'punk rocker'._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Apparently, Uzuki was trying to convince Rhyme to pierce her ears the same way she had them—a strip of metal attached near the earlobe of each ear._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Rhyme kept refusing, claiming that her piecing was the bell kept on a thin string around her neck._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Rhyme is beating Uzuki at Go Fish." Neku repeated, just to make sure he had heard Kariya right._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Kariya nodded._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________There was one thing with Rhyme; she was too cute for her own good and she used that to her advantage sometimes, especially around Uzuki who couldn't seem to get too angry at the blonde._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________However, no one could really get angry at Kariya whose calmness at every situation was irritating at times._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"How many games have they played?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Kariya slid his lollipop back into his mouth and held up his hand._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"How many has Uzuki won?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Kariya held up a finger._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________With a sigh, Neku tossed his empty can into the nearby trashcan._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Better go stop them before there's bloodshed."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Have fun." Kariya murmured as he watched Neku leave the lounge._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

____________"Graah! Deal me in again!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"All right." a voice chuckled._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Get 'er, Rhyme! Show 'er who's the king o' the jungle!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Neku entered the forensic lab to see Uzuki and Rhyme sitting across from each other at a table, each one holding five cards in their hands._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Standing at the end of the table, cheering Rhyme on, was Rhyme's older brother by two years, Beat._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Beat's blond hair, like Rhyme's, was covered by a black beanie, but this one had a white skull embroidered on the front and was pulled low enough to touch Beat's eyebrows._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Mimicking more of a punk skater, Beat wore beige cargo shorts reaching to several inches above the red shoes, which had black markings and grey soles, he had on, a white tank top with a red one beneath it, and a black chain necklace with a skull hanging from the end around his neck._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________With a black studded bracelet around his left wrist, Beat also had a chain hanging from his left pocket, a spear head-like pendant dangling from the bottom of the chain._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Rhyme glanced up when she heard Neku's approach and grinned, blue eyes bright._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Neku! Good morning!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Neku nodded in return as Uzuki's green eyes turned to him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Yo, Phones!" Beat said, loud and obnoxious as always, coming over and slapping Neku on the back. "We was beginning to think you wouldn't show!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Before Neku could shrug the slightly muscular boy off him or tell him to go away, Kariya entered the room, looking disgruntled._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"All right, one of you here ate my donut and I know it ain't boss, Rhyme, or Uzuki."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Beat slowly removed himself from Neku as Kariya glared at him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"I'll see ya later tonight, aight, Rhyme?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Bye, Beat!" Rhyme called as her brother cautiously edged around Kariya who kept his eyes locked on Beat's blue ones like a hawk._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Once he passed the doorway, Beat bolted with Kariya chasing after him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"You owe me a strawberry jam donut, Daisukenojo Bito!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Bwaah! Don't say my name!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Rhyme shook her head with a sigh before saying, "I win."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Uzuki gave a frustrated scream as she threw down her cards._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"That's so irritating!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"You two should be working." Neku pointed out, fixing his gaze on the two women._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"There's no work, Neku!" Rhyme laughed as Uzuki shuffled the cards. "We haven't had a case in two weeks!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"I'm leaving to see what Kariya is up to." Uzuki held up her hands as she stood up and departed from the room._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Neku turned and began to leave, aiming to relax on the couch until he could return to the apartment and resume looking for any scraps of information on the Reapers._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Neku."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Neku paused and glanced back at Rhyme to see her staring at him with a small smile, a hand resting against her chest._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"We'll get a case soon. I know it."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Neku gave a faint smile and nodded before leaving._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

____________Neku reclined on the couch in the main room, listening quietly to his music, one arm thrown over his eyes._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________It was near two in the afternoon, and still no case, leaving just two more hours before Neku could return home and be considered on call if something actually happened._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Neku."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Neku lifted his arm up slightly upon hearing his name, peering out from under it to see Hanekoma standing several feet away._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Sitting up with a sigh, Neku ran a hand through his hair._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Yeah?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"I want you to meet someone."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Hanekoma moved to the side to reveal a lanky, fair-skinned boy Neku's age and height with scraggly ash-blond hair and lavender-colored eyes._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________The boy wore a white button-down shirt that fairly exposed his neck, dark grey slacks, and white shoes with black laces._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"This is Yoshiya Kiryu, the newest member of our team."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Everyone calls me Joshua." Joshua chuckled._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Neku deadpanned as he stood up, glaring at Joshua faintly, before he turned his attention to Hanekoma._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Sanae, give me your wrist." He ordered._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Why…?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Do it."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Sanae cautiously held out his wrist which Neku instantly grasped and yanked the part-time café owner off to the side, out of Joshua's earshot._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"A probie? Are you out of your mind, Sanae?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"You scared off the last two." Hanekoma whispered._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"But another one? Uzuki is bad enough!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"We need three members on the squad along with a supervisor! Besides, Joshua is an excellent marksman."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"So am I!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"It doesn't matter, he's staying."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________With a frustrated growl at the back of his throat, Neku rubbed two fingers against one of the spikes in his hair, Sanae taking the gesture as a sign of defeat._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Play nice, hm?" Sanae placed a hand on Neku's shoulder before ambling toward his desk._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Neku glanced back at Joshua, noticing with slight irritation that the lavender-eyed boy was lounging on his couch, watching Neku with a grin as if he could sense the other man's distress at the news._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Upon seeing Neku's gaze, Joshua wiggled his fingers at the other in a wave._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Neku continued mentally strangling Joshua._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	2. Probie's First Homicide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooo! Finally, the second chapter after what...four months? Yeah, yeah, I know it's late -.- Sorry.
> 
> Okay, so I'm gonna keep this author's note short, but hope you guys enjoy it and I'm going to TRY and keep this going, k?
> 
> I don't own TWEWY. ):
> 
> So, we all cool? Cool. Good. Onward, my loyal readers!

_I'm an angel with a shotgun, fighting 'til the war's won. I don't care if heaven won't take me back. ___

__With an annoyed grumble, Neku rolled over, snatching his ringing phone off the nightstand and flipping it open without glancing at the caller ID; Sanae had chosen the ringtone himself._ _

__Leaning on his left arm and letting his other arm dangle over the edge of the bed, the exhausted orange-haired officer mumbled a barely coherent, "Hello?"_ _

__"Hey, Neku," Sanae greeted. "Sorry to call you this late, but we got a call about a possible homicide."_ _

__Neku glanced at the alarm clock resting on the nightstand, flickering red lights declaring that it was 2:30 A.M._ _

__Closing his phone and setting it beside his clock once more, Neku turned over and closed his eyes to go back to sleep, deciding that it was too early for a murder._ _

__Two hours of sleep was not enough time for him to function either._ _

__Just as Neku was about to drift off into blissful sleep his phone went off again and with a groan, Neku grabbed his phone._ _

__"What?" he asked in a very irritated, very awake, tone._ _

__"So help me, Neku Sakuraba, I will come over to your apartment—yes, I know where you live—and I will personally drag your sorry ass to the crime scene, dressed or not."_ _

__With a sigh of defeat, Neku mumbled, "Where is it?"_ _

__"Spain Hill, Shibuya."_ _

__"Give me ten minutes."_ _

__Snapping his phone shut and tossing it on the floor, Neku growled to himself as he threw his arms over his eyes._ _

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Minutes later, Neku arrived at the entrance to the long, winding road that contained multiple store fronts; Spain Hill was a popular hangout for teenagers and young adults. 

The area of Spain Hill was already blocked off by yellow tape at both entrances and police officers stood guard at the taped areas to prevent anyone not from the SCIB or directly related to the victim to enter. 

__Neku shut the door to his old Camry and strolled up to the nearest officer, revealing his badge._ _

__The officer lifted the tape and Neku ducked underneath it, entering the crime scene._ _

__As Neku approached the body, he noticed Uzuki already setting down number tags in any place of interest while Sanae was off to the side speaking with two males in their early teens; they were probably the ones who had discovered the body._ _

__Kariya was already beginning to inspect the victim as Joshua took pictures with a flash camera._ _

__The body was of a girl in her early twenties with short strawberry blonde hair and wearing a pale blue dress._ _

__She was slumped against a wall close to a small clothing store, right arm draped over her stomach, a bullet hole piercing the side of her head._ _

__After snapping another picture, Joshua glanced at Neku with a smirk._ _

__"How nice of you to finally join us, dear."_ _

__If Neku had coffee he'd throw it at the little prick._ _

__Instead, Neku ignored the comment and kneeled down opposite of Kariya, slipping on gloves of his own so as not to get fingerprints on anything._ _

__"Time of death?"_ _

__"I'd say three hours ago." Kariya responded with a shrug. "I didn't have time to grab my supplies so it's a rough guess. Rigor mortis suggests that time frame though."_ _

__"ID?"_ _

__"Haruka Kanada, 23. Works at a clothing place somewhere in Molco."_ _

__"Looks like a suicide to me," Joshua put in, leaning over Kariya's shoulder and staring at the body with interest. "I mean the gun—"_ _

__"Shut up, probie." Neku snapped, glaring at Joshua before glancing over the body. "It's obviously murder."_ _

__"How can you tell?" Kariya asked, looking over the body as well to see what he had missed._ _

__Neku sighed before pointing to the gun._ _

__"Look. See how it's held? If it were a suicide, she'd drop the gun after shooting herself."_ _

__"But it's held in her hand…" Kariya murmured in understanding. "Set there before rigor mortis set in…"_ _

__Neku nodded._ _

__Joshua huffed and returned to taking pictures._ _

__"I'll give the gun to Rhyme to run for prints," Neku carefully removed the gun from Haruka's hand, trying not to disturb the body too much. "When you get her to the slab, take out the bullet so Rhyme can also run ballistics."_ _

__"Got it, boss." Kariya said as Neku began to walk away, placing the gun in a plastic bag as he went._ _

__"I'm not your boss!"_ _

__"Is he always like that?" Joshua questioned, gazing after Neku with a mild scowl._ _

__"Yep."_  
_

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

__Rhyme glanced up when Neku knocked his knuckles against the doorframe._ _

__"Morning, Neku!" she greeted with a grin. "I told you we would get a case soon!"_ _

__"Yes," Neku smiled faintly, tiredly. "You did. Can you run ballistics on this gun as well as dust for fingerprints?"_ _

__Rhyme took the evidence bag held out to her, glancing down at the weapon inside before looking back up at Neku._ _

__"Sure! Neku, are you okay?"_ _

__"Yeah, I'm just tired." Neku placed a hand on Rhyme's head, pushing her hat down slightly. "I'll be fine."_ _

__Rhyme giggled as she pushed her hat back up, watching Neku leave the forensics lab before she set to work running ballistics and dusting for fingerprints._ _

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

__"Haruka was a sweet girl." Shirai whispered with a small sob, covering her face._ _

__Neku and Joshua were at Haruka's house, speaking with Shirai, Haruka's mother._ _

__"What happened the night of her death?" Neku asked, scratching down answers and notes in a small notepad, every so often hissing at Joshua to sit down since the ash blond male was curiously walking round the living room and staring at the pictures hanging on the walls or sitting on the mantle._ _

__"Since it was a weekend, she decided to go out." Shirai sniffed. "She always liked Spain Hill."_ _

__"Did she go with anyone?"_ _

__Shirai shook her head. "Not that I know of."_ _

__"Did she get along with everyone? Have any enemies?"_ _

__"Oh, goodness, no! Everyone loved her. Her classmates and fellow employees at D+B Molco enjoyed her company."_ _

__Neku nodded, writing in his notepad and glared slightly when Joshua asked, "Did your husband die, Mrs. Kanada?"_ _

__Shirai glanced toward Joshua to see him staring at the picture of a man in his late forties, two black strips of cloth draped around the corners of the photo frame; a funeral picture._ _

__"Yes. He passed from cancer when Haruka was seven."_ _

__"I see."_ _

__Joshua continued staring at the other photos as Neku resumed asking questions and paused at one photo in particular of Haruka's father._ _

__"Hey, probie, let's go."_ _

__Joshua blinked a bit and glanced at an impatient Neku._ _

__"Right. I'm coming."_ _

__Joshua glanced at the picture once more before trailing after the orange-haired male._ _

__Those gold wings on the father's left upper arm might have been something else…_ _

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

__"So, I got ballistics matched from the bullet and gun." Rhyme said, sitting at her desk with the ballistics screen pulled up on her computer. "I also have Haruka's fingerprints on the gun."_ _

__Neku nodded, breathing in deeply to cover up a yawn._ _

__Close to thirty-six hours without sleep was catching up to him._ _

__"Okay. Find anything else?"_ _

__"I found out the gun is owned by a Nuka Zikel which I also found his fingerprints along the gun's barrel and handle. When I ran his prints through the system I found that he's been charged with breaking and entering as well as attempted armed robbery."_ _

__"Let's bring him in."_ _

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

__"Yeah, the gun's mine." The black-haired male said, green eyes watching Sanae as the officer sat across from him. "But I didn't kill her or anything. She was my friend."_ _

__Sanae and Nuka were in the interrogation room, Neku and Joshua in the small room adjacent to it, watching the proceedings through the one-way mirror._ _

__Nuka was definitely foreign; Neku couldn't tell where he was from but he certainly wasn't Japanese._ _

__"Hey, I never said you did kill her." Sanae held up his hands slightly before interlocking his fingers as he rested his arms on the table. "I just want to know how your gun got from your person onto Haruka's."_ _

__Nuka appeared nervous as he glanced down at the table, fiddling with the chain necklace he wore._ _

__"Sometimes, at night, there are gangs roaming the streets of Spain Hill. That's why a lot of shops close at ten. I bring the gun with me for protection."_ _

__"What were you doing the night Haruka died?"_ _

__Nuka looked up at Sanae seriously. "I was with her."_ _

__Sanae raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"_ _

__"Yeah. Me and her went to Spain Hill to hang out. Her mom would have a cow if she found out Haruka was friends with someone like me, so we met at the Hill. We were heading back home when she snatched the gun from my pocket. She said she couldn't take it anymore and wanted to end it. Haruka had been depressed lately, but I didn't know she was that depressed."_ _

__"So you tried wrestling the gun from her grasp, but she still ended up shooting herself."_ _

__Nuka nodded._ _

__"Why didn't you call the police?"_ _

__"I was scared." Nuka returned to playing with his necklace. "So I ran."_ _

__"Something's off with his story." Neku muttered, eyes narrowed as he folded his arms._ _

__"Hmm~?" Joshua glanced at Neku out of the corner of his eye._ _

__"Haruka's mother said she was happy; everyone loved her. He's saying she was depressed."_ _

__"They're friends so she shows more emotions when around him than her mother or co-workers." Joshua answered, twirling a piece of hair around his finger as he continued to watch Sanae speak with Nuka. "Really, Neku, must the first person you dislike be the one you convict?"_ _

__Neku scowled at Joshua before looking back at the interrogation._ _

__"Can I go now?" Nuka asked. "I promised my girlfriend I'd meet her at my house."_ _

__Sanae nodded. "Of course you can."_ _

__Neku picked up his phone when it rang, turning his back as both Sanae and Nuka stood up, placing the phone to his ear._ _

__"What's up, Kariya?"_ _

__"Better get down here, boss. Found something interesting."_ _

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

__Nuka shut the door to his car and walked up the steps to his front door, opening it and entering the front hall._ _

__"Yuki, I'm back!"_ _

__A pretty blonde two years older than Nuka popped out of the kitchen, bouncing up to Nuka and planting a kiss on his cheek._ _

__"How'd the interview go?"_ _

__"It went fine." Nuka sniffed the air before glancing down at Yuki suspiciously. "Are you baking a cherry pie?"_ _

__"Yeah!"_ _

__"You only make cherry pie when you're nervous or have something to say."_ _

__Yuki's smile disappeared._ _

__"What is it?"_ _

__"Well…" Yuki fidgeted a bit, blue eyes looking at the floor. "I want to break up."_ _

__Nuka's gaze hardened. "What?"_ _

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

__"What'd you find?" Neku asked as he stepped into the examination room._ _

__"I don't think it's preventing a suicide." Kariya explained and before Neku could ask why he thought that Kariya motioned Neku closer to the slab where Haruka lay with a white sheet over her body._ _

__Kariya tilted Haruka's head to the side, exposing a large wound on the back of her skull._ _

__"This happened antemortem. I think her head hit against the wall hard enough to knock her out and give her a concussion when she woke up."_ _

__"But whoever was with her thought they had killed her." Neku murmured as Kariya fixed Haruka's head. "So they took the gun and shot her, making it look as if she shot herself."_ _

__"Seems like it." Kariya said, scratching the back of his neck with a yawn. "I also got fingerprints on her wrist and faint bruises on the underside of her wrist which happened around the same time Haruka was shoved against the wall. I sent the prints up to Rhyme to see if they matched anything."_ _

__"Someone grabbed her wrists and pushed her against the wall, but she wasn't the one holding the gun even though her fingerprints are on it."_ _

__"Maybe she said something the person didn't like and they got physical?"_ _

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

__"You're what?" Nuka asked dangerously, hand lashing out to grasp Yuki's wrist._ _

__Yuki winced as Nuka twisted her arm up slightly._ _

__"Nuka, that hurts."_ _

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

__Kariya lifted his hand up a bit, staring after Neku who had suddenly bolted with a hurried, "Thanks."_ _

__"…You're welcome?"_ _

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

__Neku was already on his way to Nuka's house after demanding that Rhyme find where he lived when Rhyme called him as he was running to the dark-haired male's house since he lived close to the SCIB; Nuka actually had two more handguns registered to him._ _

__Within minutes, Neku was at Nuka's house and was up the stairs leading to the front door, gun already held in one hand as he forcefully kicked the door open._ _

__Nuka whirled around when he heard the door slam against the wall, one hand gripping a crying Yuki's wrist while the other grasped a revolver._ _

__As Neku raised his gun at Nuka, the black-haired male had already flipped Yuki around, wrapping his arm around her neck as he pressed the barrel against Yuki's forehead._ _

__"Get back!" he ordered, firmly pressing the gun against the blonde's temple, Yuki breaking out into a fresh round of terrified sobs._ _

__"Put the gun down." Neku growled, still aiming his gun at Nuka though he had no clear shot at him and was using the weapon as more intimidation than anything._ _

__"Put yours down first." Nuka took a step back, arm tightening around the girl's neck._ _

__Deciding to play along, especially because he did not want to accidentally shoot a civilian, Neku nodded slowly and held up both hands with the gun in his left to show that he was not going to try anything strange._ _

__Not taking his eyes off Nuka, Neku gradually bent down, setting his weapon on the ground before carefully straightening._ _

__"Now, your gun, Nuka."_ _

__"No." Nuka aimed his revolver at the officer. "You're not leaving."_ _

__Neku remained calm, keeping his face a controlled blank._ _

__"Think about what you're doing. If you give yourself up now, you'll only be charged with some degree of manslaughter. Killing an officer," Neku shrugged lightly, "probably a few years to life on account of murder."_ _

__"Doesn't matter to me."_ _

__Just as Nuka's finger tightened around the trigger, a gunshot rang out._ _

__Nuka fell back, gun dropping to the floor with a clatter, a bullet hole marring the center of his forehead._ _

__Yuki immediately ran to Neku with a choked sob, clinging to the officer as she trembled._ _

__Neku sighed, glancing behind him to see Joshua still on one knee by the threshold, gun held in both hands._ _

__"I had everything under control."_ _

__Joshua stood, holstering his weapon, and smirked at Neku._ _

__"Sure you did, dear. So getting shot was all part of the plan?"_ _

__Neku scowled at the pleased Joshua before gently prying the girl off him, murmuring, "Sanae will take care of you from here," as Sanae entered the house._ _

__Yuki nodded nervously, walking over to Sanae who put a gentle arm around her shoulders._ _

__"So, how did you know he was going to kill another girl?" Joshua asked, watching as Neku picked up his gun._ _

__"I didn't." Neku answered, slipping his gun into the holster as paramedics and other officers entered the house. "Kariya mentioned someone pushing Haruka against a wall before she was shot and Nuka had been with her that night, supposedly trying to get the gun out of her hand. He said he had a girlfriend and Rhyme told me he had two more guns in his name."_ _

__"Hmm." Joshua hummed as Neku strode past him, trailing after the orange-haired officer. "What good thinking."_ _

__"Be a bit faster next time, probie."_ _

__"Will do, boss."_ _

__Neku rolled his eyes, ignoring the small giggle Joshua gave at his reaction._ _

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

__"Hey, Ne-" Sanae paused when he noticed Neku passed out on the sofa, one arm thrown of his eyes, breathing softly._ _

__Nearing forty hours without sleep had finally caught up to Neku; he had stayed later than anyone else, finishing up old case files and making sure Kariya's autopsy notes on Haruka were accurate._ _

__Sanae had just been about to tell Neku to go home as he had finished all paperwork for the recent case, but now he didn't feel as if he should awaken the peaceful Neku._ _

__"Ahh, Neku, I've told you to stop falling asleep on the sofa…" Sanae shook his head as he threw a blanket over Neku before he left the office, shutting off the lights._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh so a bit shorter than the first chapter, though that length was counting author's note, hence why I'm keeping these short.
> 
> If there are questions you can pose them in a review and I'll try to answer them in the next chapter though no questions about anything like pasts or stuff like that as that will slowly come to light~
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. :3
> 
> Please Read and Review.


	3. Ulterior Motive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I guess my mind wants to update this every month...? Yeah, sure I guess. I was just waiting for a bit more reviews, but whatever. :3
> 
> Thank you to Animesaki and Dragonsong57 for being the constant reviewers :3 Love you guys; you're both amazing.
> 
> Anyway, Animesaki has been helping out with the chapters and basically the story SO. She is now my co-author so yes, thank you Anime. :)
> 
> Also you will be pleased to know there will (or will not I ain't gonna say for sure) be a sequel :D
> 
> I don't own TWEWY but Anime owns Haru. Or do we both own her? Well whatever, Haru is an original so, yeah.
> 
> She also might show up again, but...might not...
> 
> Please Read and Review.

_Not many had come to the funeral._

_Just him, a few family members._

_Neku had been certain there would be more._

_It didn't bother Neku, though._

_He was left alone with the gravestone as his company departed sooner than expected._

_Even when the cold rain came Neku remained there, still stuck in the memory of warm blood seeping through his fingers._

_Blood and volant black wings spray-painted on the concrete._

* * *

Neku didn't jolt awake like he usually did after his dreams, instead slowly removing his arm from his eyes and staring at the ceiling.

He remembered falling asleep on the couch of the SCIB while waiting for Sanae to finish up the paperwork for the last case and give it to the director to sign before it was put in the basement with the other finished cases.

With a sigh, Neku rolled onto his side, grabbing his phone off the nearby coffee table to check the time.

5:30 A.M.

Well, nearing fourteen hours of sleep was good enough for Neku to get up.

As he sat up, Neku noticed the blanket falling down to his waist and realized it was probably Sanae who had placed it over him.

Folding the blanket and setting it over the back of the couch, Neku stood up and decided to get something to eat and drink from the vending machines, debating on whether he should return to the apartment afterward.

* * *

Neku decided to stay at the SCIB office while he waited for 7 to roll around, deciding he didn't want to risk waking up Shiki upon his return and another hour alone was quite appealing.

As he passed Sanae's desk, drinking a canned ice coffee, Neku paused when he noticed a case file on the desktop.

He was about to ignore the file, but he stopped and looked back at it when he noticed _Earth Days, Dogenzaka, Shibuya. Shop Owner Death/Explosion Case_ was written on the tab of the file in neat print.

Neku remembered that case.

He sat the desk, opening the file.

The shop, Earth Days, had exploded from a furnace malfunction and now Shadow Ramen stood where the old shop once had.

The incident had happened three years ago just one year after Neku had started working for the SCIB while going to school in the mornings.

* * *

" _Impa!"_

_A woman in her early thirties turned partway around in her chair just as she was tackled by a seventeen-year-old Rhyme._

_She chuckled, pushing a few strands of shoulder length black hair behind her left ear as Rhyme pulled back._

_"Well, good morning, Zelda. How are you today?"_

" _I'm doing great!"_

' _Impa' glanced up at the nineteen-year-old Beat who stood by the threshold to the forensic lab, gazing off to the side as he rubbed the back of his neck._

" _And you, Groose?"_

_Beat glanced at 'Impa' before looking away again in embarrassment._

"' _M fine. I gotta go, aight, Rhyme? I be back to pick you up later."_

" _Bye!" Rhyme waved as Beat left before hopping away from 'Impa', staring at her excitedly. "You said you had a present for me?"_

' _Impa' chuckled, rubbing Rhyme's head._

" _Hang on. Let me go get it."_

_Rhyme nodded eagerly as 'Impa' left and sat on the desk where the computer was, kicking her legs back and forth as she waited for 'Impa' to return._

" _Hey there, little blonde."_

_Rhyme glanced up to see Kariya leaning against the doorframe, one hand holding the end of his lollipop stick._

" _Link!"_

_Kariya had joined the SCIB months after Rhyme had become 'Impa's assistant, becoming the new coroner when the previous one died of a heart attack._

_Kariya gave a small yawn before pointing his lollipop at Rhyme._

" _Stop calling me Link."_

_He glanced to the side, placing his sucker back in his mouth._

" _I'm no hero."_

_Rhyme giggled. "You're a hero to me."_

_Kariya remained silent, pushing himself off the doorframe and slinking away._

_Rhyme almost went after him, but 'Impa' returned and handed her a small box, green eyes sparkling._

" _Go ahead and open it."_

_Rhyme grinned and lifted the lid, gasping at what she saw inside._

_It was a bell attached to a thin string._

_Carefully the blonde lifted the bell up by the string, staring at it in awe and tapping it, hearing the bell tinkle._

" _Thank you, Impa." Rhyme murmured, slipping the bell around her neck and gazing down at it, admiring it._

_It looked perfect._

" _I saw it and I thought of you." Impa explained with a small smile. "It looks great on you."_

_Someone cleared their throat and both women turned to see another woman in her mid-twenties standing at the threshold, staring at them with her pale eyes._

_Her wavy light blonde hair reached to the center of her back and she wore black thigh length stockings, white high heels, and a short black and white dress._

" _Konishi-sama." 'Impa' said as Konishi pushed up her square glasses, the bracelets on her left wrist clinking together. "What is it?"_

_"We have a homicide." Konishi informed, turning and striding away, heels clicking against the tile. "Dogenzaka. Gather Koki, Zekai, and Kairen and meet them there, Yuki."_

_"Ah, yes, ma'am."_

* * *

" _There are multiple stab wounds to the back." Kariya said, crouching by the body of the elderly male lying face down by the front of the store with blood staining the white dress shirt he had on. "He died from the blood loss."_

_Konishi nodded, arms folded underneath her chest._

" _Keep looking for clues, Koki."_

_"Yes, ma'am."_

_Konishi walked away, glancing inside the store to see Kairen and Zekai searching for clue or marking any points of interest with tags._

_Yuki and Rhyme were by the store's other window, broken in by the attacker, dusting for fingerprints._

_Konishi headed toward the girl who had found the store owner's body to ask her questions._

_Kariya stood up, strolling to the nearby cop car to get his medical kit which would have the thermometer to test the liver temperature so he could estimate time of death._

" _Zelda," Yuki chuckled, glancing at Rhyme. "Stop playing with the bell and focus."_

_"But I just love it so much!"_

_"I knew you would."_

_Yuki heard a noise somewhere inside the store, like a clink of bottles, but to her it didn't sound like a good noise._

_She turned, grabbing Rhyme and pinning the blonde beneath her._

_It went silent for a few seconds._

_Then there was an explosion and glass shattered loudly and everyone panicked._

_Yuki pulled Rhyme closer, protecting her from the glass and brick shards._

_The chaos felt like it lasted for hours and then it was over, the only sound coming from the crackling fire and the ambulance and fire truck sirens beginning to sound._

_Rhyme breathed out, not realizing she had held her breath, her body trembling._

_She gently pushed at Yuki's shoulders._

" _I-Impa, it's all right now. I think it's over."_

_Yuki didn't move and Rhyme noticed she was lying on top of her, instead of crouching, weight practically crushing._

" _Impa…?"_

_Warm blood dripped on her face._

" _Yuki!"_

* * *

_The nineteen-year-old Beat and Neku walked past Dogenzaka._

_Beat had a break from work and was going to bring his sister lunch from her favorite ramen place and Neku had just gotten of school and was about to head over to the SCIB._

_They had bumped into each other and Beat suggested they go together since they were heading to the same place; Neku reluctantly allowed it, not liking the company, but not dismissing it either._

_Neku noticed the police and firefighters first._

_Beat spotted Rhyme sitting on the back of an ambulance with a yellow blanket draped over her shoulders._

_He dropped the bag containing the ramen and dashed toward Rhyme._

" _Rhyme!"_

_Two police held Beat back, automatically saying the area was a crime scene and he couldn't enter._

" _Dat's my sister, man! Rhyme!"_

_Konishi waved at the police, telling them to let him pass, and Beat bolted to Rhyme's side._

_Neku showed his badge to the officers before they could stop him and immediately went up to Kariya who stood near the ambulance._

" _What happened?"_

_Kariya rubbed the back of his neck with a small groan._

" _We were investing the death of Earth Day's owner. Next thing we know, boom. The place goes up. They're looking to see what set off the explosion."_

_Beat was checking Rhyme over as Kariya explained._

" _You aight, Rhyme?"_

" _Yeah…" Rhyme whispered, keeping her head lowered._

" _Lookit me, Rhyme."_

_Gradually Rhyme lifted her head and Beat gasped when he noticed the blood drops on her face._

"' _Ey, you're bleeding!"_

_The blonde sniffled, rubbing at the smudged blood on her cheeks._

" _It's not mine."_

_Rhyme then suddenly broke down crying, face dropping in her hands as her shoulders shook._

_Beat became flustered, not sure what he had said to make his sister cry and looked at Kariya and Neku anxiously for help._

" _Yuki died protecting her from the debris." Kariya explained quietly._

* * *

Zekai and Kairen had also died in the explosion.

The body of the shop owner had been burnt by the flames and there was no more forensic evidence to pursue.

The explosion was blamed on a malfunctioned furnace.

The case had been stored with the other completed files.

Neku frowned.

So how did Sanae know about it?

He had only become the team leader a year ago with Konishi moving up to director so he couldn't have heard about the case.

Neku closed the file.

* * *

Sanae glanced up when a file was slammed on his desk and noticed a less than pleased Neku standing in front of his desk.

"Yes, Neku?"

"How did you know about this case?" Neku tapped the file and Sanae briefly glanced down at it.

"I heard about it."

"Heard about it? Yeah, sure. Why pull it out? Curiosity?"

* * *

_Sanae headed up to the second floor where the Director's office was, planning to get the Haruka case file signed, and was about to grab the doorknob when he froze as he heard her talking softly._

" _Yes, I know. But this next job has to go off without a hitch. I don't want it to end up like the Dogenzaka explosion. We lost too many good members that day."_

_Gradually Sanae pulled his hand back._

* * *

Sanae smiled faintly.

"Yes. Simple curiosity."

Neku scowled, giving a frustrated grunt as he straightened.

"Fine. Keep your damn secrets, Sanae."

Sanae watched as Neku stalked off before glancing down at the file.

"Hanekoma."

Sanae looked up to see Konishi standing in front of his desk and immediately stood up, his hand covering the name of the file.

"Director Konishi."

Konishi's eyes narrowed at the movement before she pushed up her glasses, her other arm wrapping around her chest.

"Gather Kiryu, Sakuraba, and Yashiro. We have something to discuss."

"Of course." Sanae responded as Konishi turned and strode away.

* * *

Konishi dropped a picture on the table where Joshua, Neku, and Uzuki sat with Sanae standing nearby as he had also been invited to the meeting.

"This is Ra's Vengeance." Konishi explained as Neku picked up the photo, Joshua and Uzuki staring at the knife in the photo curiously. "It's a dagger from sometime in the AD century and came from Egypt; no one knows how it managed to get from there to Japan. It is said to have been created by Ra himself, handed down to a certain lineage of pharaohs who drenched the blade in their fist blood for seven days and seven nights."

"What a curious dagger." Joshua said, pointing to the crystal-like blade then the glittering handle. "What is it made from?"

"The handle is made from ebony and gold while the pommel is amber with encrusted rubies. The blade itself is said to be made from diamond."

"Diamond?!" Uzuki squealed excitedly.

"No way." Neku muttered.

"It must have taken ages to make judging by how smooth it is." Joshua put in.

"And why should we be interested in the dagger?" Sanae questioned, leaning against the vending machine. "This isn't our area of expertise, director."

"This dagger will be at a historical fair in Miyashita Park. We were specifically asked to guard Ra's Vengeance to prevent the risk of someone sealing it. This job may not be our usual line of work, Sanae, but we are going to complete it."

Sanae seemed a bit surprised by Konishi's forceful tone before he scowled slightly, remaining silent.

"We depart now."

* * *

Miyashita Park was the only green space within Shibuya.

It wasn't really a park either, just a huge expanse of grass with a few cherry blossom trees and benches scattered around and a skate park at the far end.

Currently there were small booths and tents containing a multitude of different items; jewelry, paintings, dolls.

Anything and everything that looked or was considered historical.

The tent containing Ra's Vengeance however was off limits to the fair goers.

Konishi stood inside the tent, guarding the case containing the dagger while Sanae and the other three spread out to look for any suspicious characters, keeping in contact with ear piece radios.

"A painting by Van Gogh." Joshua murmured over the connection. "It's an original, too. How come this piece isn't in a museum?"

Neku smirked. "Never took you for an art lover, probie."

There was a soft chuckle. "Oh, I am. And I see a very beautiful piece every day."

Neku could practically see Joshua looking at him with his damn shit-eating grin.

"I hope you know I'm mentally strangling you and dancing over your grave right now." Neku replied smoothly.

"You must be a wonderful dancer, then." Joshua purred.

Neku halted in his tracks, a furious blush covering his cheeks, and he hissed, "Where the fuck are you, you bastard?!"

"Guys!" Sanae's voice interrupted before Joshua could reply with another quip. "Stop bickering and continue scouting for anyone suspicious."

Neku scowled, giving a snort of defeat as Joshua said, "Sure thing, Sanae."

_I should have pleaded to stay back at the office._ Uzuki thought with an irritated sigh.

"Check in." Konishi's voice cut in.

"Sector A clear." Sanae informed.

"C's clear, too." Uzuki grumbled.

"F is clear." Neku said.

"E's clean." Joshua replied.

"Keep searching." Konishi ordered. "You never know when—hey! This artifact's off limits!"

There were loud scuffling sounds on Konishi's end.

"Director?" Sanae questioned as the line became silent. "Everyone move in on Konishi's location!"

The team raced back to the tent just as Konishi emerged from it, rubbing her head.

"Director!" Sanae said anxiously. "Where did they go?"

"Over in that direction." Konishi pointed to her left. "He was in a dark red hoodie."

Everyone scattered while Sanae remained with Konishi to get her head checked out.

* * *

After an hour or two of searching the park for anyone in a red hoodie, Konishi called it quits and the team gave up on searching for the thief who stole Ra's Vengeance.

As the team returned to the SCIB a girl in her early twenties approached them, claiming she had seen the thief and introduced herself as Haru Kaze.

Haru's light pink hair had green highlights and was cut skater style with the long pieces of hair reaching to her waist while the rest draped over her shoulders.

She had on black cargo pants with a chain hanging from the left pocket, a red leather crop top zip-up with a white tank top beneath it, and black cyber boots with red straps.

Neku thought she looked sort of like a punk skater, much like Beat, especially with the leather bracelet on her left wrist, two rings on her right middle and ring fingers, and a shiny metal clasp attached to the shell of her left ear.

Sanae allowed Haru inside, explaining that he would take her to Rhyme who could draw up a sketch of the thief.

As they all entered the lobby Beat was coming toward them after dropping off his usual cup of coffee for Rhyme.

He gave a wave at the group as he passed, catching Haru's aqua eyes, and he abruptly paused at the office entrance.

The blond skater glanced back at the group as they disappeared around a corner, eyes widening slightly as a faint pink coated his cheeks.

* * *

After the others had gone home, Sanae went to his desk to look through the Dogenzaka case file.

His desktop, however, was empty.

Puzzled, he searched the trough his desk and even looked underneath it, wondering if he had somehow misplaced the file.

In her office, Konishi sat at her desk calmly staring at the burning paper in her trashcan, flames reflecting against her glasses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things...yes, I know Miyashita Park doesn't look like what I described it as; for the sake of this story, it's gonna look like that, all right?
> 
> Yes I know in the game the bell was given to Rhyme by Beat, but once again, sake of story.
> 
> YES you aren't supposed to trust Konishi. And YES you can know this soon that you aren't supposed to.
> 
> That it? You all cool? GOOD.
> 
> Anyway...Ahh Ra's Vengeance will show up again so be prepared :3
> 
> Once again, thanks Anime. She puts up with me and my insaneness so...
> 
> Also sexy image in your heads for the day: Joshua...with reading glasses.
> 
> Please Read and Review. :)


	4. Reapers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow it's been three months since I've last updated this (on FF) xD Sorry guys; school and I was trying to focus on one of my orignals but as you can see I've obviously gotten nowhere with it so I decided to start this up again.
> 
> I'll try to keep updating this within a reasonable amount of time, all right? Summer for me is coming up in about a month or two (I'm hoping near the beginning of May is when this semester of college ends for me) so I should be able to focus more on this by that time hopefully :3
> 
> Oh and I suppose for future reference, bold will be text messages, italics will be thoughts, and bold italics will be names of suspects/case file names or whatever.
> 
> Anyway, I don't own TWEWY ):
> 
> So, please read and review. :D

It had been a few days since Ra's Vengeance had been stolen and since then there hadn't been a case.

Which lead to the SCIB team being bored as they waited for something to occur.

"Check." Joshua giggled, setting his black knight down.

Kariya looked between his side of the board and the piece, wondering how he had been cornered so fast, before he sighed and raised his hands in surrender.

"All right, you win. I concede defeat."

"Aww, you give up too soon, Kōki." Joshua gave a slight pout.

"I know when my ass is being handed to me." Kariya closed his eyes as he leaned his head back, taking the lollipop out of his mouth.

Joshua giggled again, setting the pieces back into their starting positions and calling for Rhyme to play a game of chess with him.

Neku lay on his couch, listening to some music and texting Shiki who was attempting to coerce him into coming with her and Eri to go shopping at Lapin Angelique, glaring at the other members of his team every so often.

**Ohh, pleeaseee? ):**

Neku scowled at the text, replying, **No! !  
**

**Pleeeeasseeeeeee? )):**

**Fuck, no!**

**Pleeeasee?!**

Just as Neku was about to reply, there was a tap at his leg and he glanced up to see Sanae standing before him.

"Yeah, Mr. H?"

"Can I talk to you briefly, Neku?"

Neku nodded, shutting his phone and setting it on the coffee table as he stood up, following Sanae to the vending area.

Joshua watched the two leave before glancing at Neku's phone, a slow smile crossing his face.

* * *

Neku picked up the Pepsi can that had dropped down, tapping the top for a few seconds before opening it.

"So what is it you want to talk about, Mr. H?"

"Neku, is there anyone within the precinct that you don't trust?"

"Hmm…" Neku took a slow sip of his Pepsi as he thought about his answer. "No, not really."

He glanced at Sanae who was leaning against a vending machine, arms folded and his face serious.

"Why? Is there someone here that you don't trust?"

Sanae shook his head, dropping his arms by his side as his face relaxed. "No. I suppose I'm being paranoid."

He looked at Neku, giving a smile.

"Thank you for helping, Neku. You can go back now."

"Uh, all right." Neku gave Sanae a strange look before heading back toward the office.

As soon as Neku had left, Sanae scowled again, folding his arms.

Of course Neku wouldn't think to distrust anyone.

But Sanae did.

That file had mysteriously vanished from his desk and he had looked all over the precinct for hours to try and find it, thinking someone had taken it and put it away.

Then he remembered he had put the file in a drawer in his desk to prevent the possibility of that happening.

So how had it gotten out of his desk?

Sanae's only answer had been Konishi, who had also seen the file and she did have keys to everything in the building, including the desks.

The phone call and the file disappearing made sense; it connected.

But what exactly did Konishi have to hide?

* * *

"Neku-kun!"

Neku glanced up when he heard his name and spotted Shiki and her best friend Eri entering the commons.

Eri was a few inches taller than Shiki and slightly more slender in stature with her shoulder blade-length dark red hair concealed partially by a brown and white cap.

She wore a red short-sleeved shirt that exposed a considerable portion of her midriff with a short yellow hoodie over the shirt, a low-cut green denim skirt with a brown pouch around her waist, and brown medium-heeled boots that almost reached her knees with yellow stripes on the side.

A necklace with a puzzle piece-shaped pendant hung around Eri's neck and she also sported a ring on her pinkie finger and a yellow bracelet around her left wrist.

All the clothes that Eri had on were created by Shiki.

While Eri was the one who designed the clothes, Shiki was the one to bring them to life, making the two a dangerous combo in the fashion business.

"Hey, Nekky!" Eri greeted with a wave.

Behind him Neku could hear Uzuki and Joshua snickering, but a quick glare in their direction shut them up.

"I told you to call me Neku." Neku scowled at Eri. "What are you two doing here anyway?"

"Picking you up." Shiki answered automatically.

"Picking me up?" Neku repeated, confused. "I thought you two were going shopping."

"We are." Eri sighed. "But we came to get you since this place is on the way to Lapin."

Neku's eyes widened in realization.

"Whoa, wait! I said no! I kept telling you no!"

Shiki frowned, looking at her phone.

"But you finally said yes."

She showed her phone to Neku.

"See?"

Neku snatched Shiki's phone from her, scanning the text messages.

**Pleeeaseeeee?! Please, please, please, please!**

**Oh, fine. I'd be delighted to. Pick me up at 4? ;)**

Neku scowled, giving a low growl as he gripped the phone tightly, glaring in Joshua's direction.

"Yoshiya…"

Joshua noticed the glare and gave a lazy grin, waving at Neku.

Before Neku had a chance to stomp over to the ash-blond and strangle him, Eri and Shiki grabbed each of his wrists, starting to drag him to the door.

"Well, come on!" Shiki said happily.

"That text didn't count! It wasn't sent by me!"

"If it's sent by your phone, it counts." Eri chuckled. "Stop being a whiny baby."

Neku groaned, giving up on trying to free himself from the vice grip the girls had on his wrists, resigning himself to his fate.

* * *

Lapin Angelique resided in the area of A-East along with the concert stage where the popular band Def Märch played.

The store catered to the Gothic Lolita fashion and its subcultures and was owned by Princess K.

Princess K wore a black dress with a white stripe at the end of the skirt along with white crosses above the line and had on a black top hat with a pink ribbon tied around the hat and her chin to keep the hat tilted slightly to the left.

Princess K immediately greeted the trio as they entered, blue eyes bright and brown hair a bit longer than shoulder-length bouncing as she skipped up to them.

"Princess K welcomes you! How may Princess K assist you?"

Shiki and Eri temporarily abandoned Neku as they whispered to Princess K, the trio occasionally glancing at Neku who was growing more and more unnerved as the minutes went by.

Finally, Princess K clapped her hands together, grinning.

"Princess K can help you, yes! Hop this way."

Just as Neku turned to leave, trying to save his skin from whatever Shiki and Eri had planned, the girls grabbed each of his wrists and dragged him after Princess K.

* * *

Neku stubbornly crossed his arms, hiding his mouth behind the collar of his shirt.

"No."

It had been nearly two hours since he had been dragged into the store and since then he had tried on several things, either by force or reluctance, including a bunny parka, a double-breasted suit (which Princess K had gushed over how handsome Neku had looked in it), and a black Goth bondage coat.

Now Shiki and Eri were attempting to get him to try on a black and purple vampire dress complete with a red cape and black ribbon bonnet.

That, however, was the last straw.

He was not going to cross-dress for someone's amusement.

Shiki and Eri glanced at each other with evil smirks, Shiki's glasses glinting slightly.

"Oh, okay," the both said simultaneously. "Denial."

Both girls pushed Neku back into the changing room, ignoring his flails and yelps.

"Gah! Get your paws off me!"

* * *

Neku groaned as he stared down at himself miserably.

Shiki and Eri snickered to each other, Shiki taking a few pictures to have either for blackmail or to send to friends.

Frustrated, Neku yanked the dress over his head in an attempt to take it off, muttering to himself.

"That's it! I'm done! I was done two hours ago!"

Neku pulled at the dressed harder, having gotten it stuck halfway over his head.

"Get this thing off me!"

Eri cackled, going closer to Neku.

"Stop struggling and hold still so I can reach it."

Neku remained still, silently fuming, as Eri took the dress off.

Once it was off, he stormed back into the dressing room to put on his regular clothes, coming out minutes later with his face tucked into his cowl and headphones covering his ears with the music blasting.

"I'm going home."

Shiki gave an apologetic look at Eri as she trotted after Neku, Eri waving and mouthing ' _send me the pics_ '.

Shiki gave a thumbs up in response, grinning.

* * *

Neku sighed as he exited the bathroom, tightening the towel around his waist.

After returning home, Neku had immediately made his way to the bathroom to take a shower in an attempt to wash off the day, Shiki yelling that she was going to the store real fast and would probably be back within an hour.

Neku didn't entirely care; he was still irritated from the events of a few hours earlier.

Grumbling to himself, Neku used a smaller towel around his neck to dry his flattened hair in an attempt to get it back into its usual spikes as he made his way to the kitchen to get something to drink.

Sitting at the table was Joshua who had his right arm slung over the back of the chair, his left foot resting against the side of the table, lifting the chair a bit.

He looked up slightly when he heard the bathroom door close and smiled a bit as he saw Neku enter the kitchen.

"Hey, Neku."

Neku opened the door to the fridge, bending down slightly to look inside, automatically replying, "Hey, Josh."

Just as he picked up a Pepsi can, Neku realized that Joshua was there.

In his apartment.

He rapidly pulled back, bumping his head on the bottom of the freezer door, and looked at Joshua as he rubbed his aching head.

"Yoshiya?! What are you—how did you get in here?!"

"Your nice friend Shiki let me in." Joshua smiled pleasantly, happy that he had flustered Neku with his mere presence, before slowly letting his eyes trail over Neku's half-naked form.

Neku blushed in anger, throwing his can at Joshua before stomping to his room.

"Perv!"

Joshua chuckled as he pulled the can from his forehead, tapping the top a few times to settle the disturbed liquid before opening the can and taking a few sips.

Neku's reaction was worth the can to the forehead.

Neku came back a few minutes later, fully dressed, and halted when he noticed Joshua drinking his Pepsi.

"Gah!" Neku snatched the can from Joshua, glaring at him. "That's mine!"

Joshua pouted slightly as Neku dumped his drink.

Neku grabbed another Pepsi, glaring at Joshua as he headed back to his room.

"You better be gone by the time I come back or I'll kick your ass."

Joshua smirked lazily, giving a low purr.

"Is that a threat or a promise?"

Neku glowered at Joshua as he shut the door to his room forcefully.

Joshua let the chair drop down as he stood up, heading over to the couch and plopping down, turning on the TV.

* * *

It was nearing midnight and Neku hadn't left his room.

Of course Joshua hadn't left, waiting for Neku to kick him out.

Shiki had since returned home and retired to bed after speaking with Joshua for a while.

Finally, Joshua stood up and made his way to Neku's room, deciding to see what the orange-haired man was up to.

Joshua opened the door to Neku's room, slowly entering and looking around.

He spotted Neku at a small desk against the wall across from the door, slumped over and obviously asleep.

Joshua silently walked closer, noticing several open case files underneath Neku's arms and scattered around the desktop.

He saw pictures of victims, each one with strange black wings painted on the wall behind them or ground beneath them depending on the position of the body.

Joshua frowned slightly as he looked over Neku's shoulder, trying not to disturb him, eyes scanning the autopsy reports and other papers with random information.

_**Conductor, Anguis Cantus.** _

Joshua's eyes landed on the paper with those words and he immediately pulled it from the rest of the papers, folding it and slipping it into his back pocket.

He glanced at Neku with a low hum.

"Now, why are you interested in the Reapers, dear?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, scene~
> 
> So that's the end of this chapter and I hope you enjoyed it xD I did when writing the scene between Josh and Neku.
> 
> Also I will be referring to him as Joshua for a while, so I'm sorry if that irritates anyone, but that's what I'm going to be doing until I feel it's been long enough to stop calling him that and start calling him Josh.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you loved this chapter and don't forget to read and review. :D


	5. Trust Your Partner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this chapter is almost 3,000 words xD You can see how much I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> So this is like...part 1 of 2 (there's also a future chapter(s) that will be divided into two parts as well). You'll have to suffer at the end while I write up the next chapter. :3
> 
> Also the outfit Neku wears my friend came up with, I just added something because I remembered something.
> 
> Anyway, I don't own TWEWY or I guess that outfit Joshua wears xD.
> 
> Please Read and Review. :D

Neku yawned as he came out of his room, scratching the back of his neck.

He abruptly paused upon noticing Joshua sitting at the table, eating a small stack of pancakes with scrambled eggs.

Honestly, Neku wasn't surprised as Joshua had started visiting ever since the Lapin Angelique incident several days ago, but seeing the ash-blond male still irritated Neku.

"Good morning, dear." Joshua greeted pleasantly.

Neku scowled before turning his attention to Shiki who squeaked at his stern gaze.

"What is _that_ doing here?"

Shiki started stuttering her answer, waving her hands frantically before using Mr. Mew as a shield.

"Oh, don't scare the poor girl, Nekky." Joshua sighed, leaning back in his chair as he grinned. "I invited myself in. She was being a good host."

Neku paused briefly, taking in what Joshua said before his scowl deepened.

"Invited yourself in? How?!"

"Lock pick~!" Joshua sang, holding up a torsion wrench and a hook pick.

Neku frowned, grabbing Joshua by the front of his shirt and snatching the lock picking tools from him before shoving the ash-blond toward the front door.

"Out, out! Get out of my apartment, you freak!"

"Actually, dear, it's Miss Misaki's apartment." Joshua pointed out as Neku opened the front door.

Neku gave a frustrated growl as he pushed Joshua out onto the balcony, slamming the door seconds later and locking it.

"H-he's really n-not that bad, Neku…." Shiki mumbled, petting the top of Mr. Mew's head. "He's really nice."

"Nice people don't pick locks! Or 'invite' themselves in!"

Shiki sighed, staring down at Mr. Mew sadly, deciding she and him both silently agreed on Joshua's goodness.

Neku headed toward the bathroom, grumbling, "I'm taking a shower."

"Wh-what about breakfast?"

"I'll eat something at work."

Shiki gave a soft groan, resting her chin on Mr. Mew's head, deciding not to push her luck by pestering Neku to eat.

* * *

Neku took out the can of chilled coffee and package of Hostess powder donuts form the bottom of the vending machine, turning around and giving a small, startled jump when he noticed Kariya leaning against the doorframe.

"Gah! Kariya, don't do that!"

Kariya gave a lazy smile, pulling out a wrapped butterscotch sucker from his pocket.

"Sorry, boss, didn't mean to startle ya."

"You didn't 'startle' me. I was merely caught off guard."

Kariya gave a noncommittal hum as he put the sucker in his mouth, watching Neku sit at one of the tables and open his package of donuts.

Neku noticed the stare as he took a bite of one of the powder white donuts and frowned slightly.

"What?"

"Sanae wants to see you and Josh after you're done eating. Said something about a special mission."

Neku swallowed, his frown deepening.

"Special mission?"

Kariya held up his hands.

"Sorry, boss, he didn't tell me."

"Hmm…" Neku finished off the donut, licking the powder off his fingers before opening his can of coffee. "All right. Tell him I'll be there in twenty."

* * *

Sanae set several pictures down on his desk.

"This is Noise, a club near the Shibu-Q Heads area." Sanae explained as Neku picked up the pictures. "They're suspected of drug dealing and human trafficking. Recently, several males and females, ranging from their mid-teens to early thirties, have disappeared and all of them were last seen entering Noise as potential club members."

Neku stepped to the side slightly when he felt Joshua practically leaning on his shoulder to observe the photos, giving a mild glare at the ash-blond.

"Sota and Nao are the owners of the club." Sanae continued.

Neku slid the first picture of a fancy-looking club to the back of the pile, revealing a photo of a male around his age with dirty blond hair tied in a short ponytail at the back of his head and blue eyes with a pair of sunglasses resting on the top of his head.

"Both are suspected criminals. Sota is the main brain behind the operation."

Sota didn't appear to fit as a club owner, wearing a white U-neck tank top that clung to his chest with a sleeveless black jacket with the collar popped up and torn and faded blue jeans held up by a brown belt with a large silver buckle; a silver watch was on his left wrist with a white band on his elbow and two pendant necklaces, one longer than the other, hung around his neck.

"Nao is his girlfriend, the one who picks out people from the members of the club to traffic."

Nao was shorter than Sota by a few inches and slightly tan with pale blonde hair curling around her shoulders and black eyes.

She wore green jeans with a dark belt, a black shirt with pink spaghetti straps and pink seams that had an open bottom to reveal her navel, and two necklaces around her neck—a simple silver one and a beaded one.

"Okay." Joshua said, glancing at Sanae. "So what do we do?"

Human trafficking and drug selling.

That was a trademark of the Reapers.

 _They could be a part of the Reapers._ Neku thought as he held the photos tighter. _If I arrest one of them I could get some answers._

"…and you and Neku will be applying as potential members."

Neku jerked slightly as he was brought out of his thoughts by Sanae's words and looked at the barista.

"Whoa, wait, what?"

Joshua rolled his eyes with a soft sigh.

"Earth to Neku. He was explaining that we are to infiltrate Noise and apply as members to uncover whether they are truly performing human trafficking and drug dealing as rumored."

Neku scowled at Joshua before turning his attention back to Sanae.

"Sanae, do I _have_ to be paired with him?"

"Yes."

"But why him? Why not…Kariya or Rhyme…or even Uzuki?"

"I heard that!" Uzuki snapped, glaring at Neku before returning back to her game of Go-Fish with Kariya.

"Because," Sanae sighed, taking the pictures from Neku. "Uzuki is too loud and might give us away. We are going undercover; we want to crack the rumors about the club and arrest Sota and Nao if they're true. And to do that without arousing suspicion, I want both of you to apply as new club members."

Neku scowled at Joshua again before he sighed, relaxing slightly.

"Fine…"

"Perfect!" Sanae grinned. "I've been keeping an eye on the club and have learned that potential members dress up in animal-like clothes that fit the person's personality or generally what the animal is associated with. You know, like proud lion, deceitful snake, etc., etc."

"Why dress up besides that, though?" Joshua questioned. "Is the club like a cosplay club?"

"Not entirely. We believe the policy is to help disguise the merchandise as not all people dress up; only the members or potential members."

"Don't the people who dress up get noticed?" Neku asked. "Wouldn't someone notice if they suddenly vanished?"

"Not if they willingly went with someone." Sanae answered.

"Very clever strategy." Joshua murmured.

"Anyway." Sanae coughed. "I've taken the liberty of calling a designer to create two costumes for the both of you."

"Umm…Mr. Hanekoma?"

Sanae glanced toward the common room entrance, standing up from his desk.

"There you are, Miss Misaki."

Neku started slightly at the name before looking toward the door.

"Shiki?"

Shiki halted, staring at Neku in surprise.

"Neku? Oh! I should have known when Mr. Hanekoma asked me to come here."

Shiki held out a bag to Neku then Joshua.

"Here are your costumes. Mr. Hanekoma only gave me the animal name to work from and the size guess."

"Why don't you two go try them on before Miss Misaki leaves so she can see that they fit?" Sanae suggested.

* * *

Everyone glanced up when Neku came out first, Uzuki giving a small snort when she saw him while Rhyme giggled.

Neku was wearing a sleeveless orange hoodie, with fox ears on the hood, that revealed a small amount of his midriff, orange arm warmers on both arms, orange leggings that disappeared beneath the thigh-length purple plaid skirt, and knee-high black boots with a half-inch heel and orange straps.

Finally, Uzuki burst out laughing as Shiki inspected the silently fuming Neku.

"It fits perfect!" Shiki gasped, clapping her hands together. "Mr. Hanekoma, you have a good eye!"

Sanae rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"I try."

Neku sent a murderous glare at Sanae.

"You better sleep with one eye open."

"Now, that's not nice, dear."

Shiki grinned. "Oh, Josh, you look amazing!"

Joshua skipped into the room, twirling around.

"Don't I?"

Joshua had on a black bunny parka with the sleeves cut so they exposed his shoulders and had a black and purple plaid pattern at the bottom of the parka, a thigh-length red plaid skirt over black Tripp pants with red straps, and plain black shoes.

"I love this!" Joshua gushed, clasping Shiki's hands. "You are amazing with a needle."

Shiki blushed, embarrassed by the compliment.

"Oh…thank you…"

"All right, all right." Sanae said. "Here are your instructions: stay together. Don't lose track of each other. If they ask your names, go by the character names that you choose."

"Roger that, Sanae." Joshua answered, flicking up the hood of his parka and idly playing with the ears.

Shiki reached up and took off Neku's headphones, the reaction to the loss of his barrier device immediate.

"What are you doing? Give those back!"

Shiki held onto the headphones tighter, turning away slightly when Neku reached for them.

"No. You can't have them on during the mission."

"What? No—"

"Neku." Sanae interrupted. "I want them off. They will take away from your character."

Neku remained silent for a few seconds before he responded by throwing up his hood, stuffing his hands in his pockets and hunching his shoulders in an attempt to withdraw into himself.

* * *

He felt so naked without his headphones.

Neku sighed as he scratched at the table with his index finger, hood up in lieu of his missing headphones, trying to focus on the bass music thrumming throughout the room.

He and Joshua had arrived at Noise less than an hour ago and Joshua had flounced off to who knows where, taking his title of 'Playful Rabbit' a bit too seriously.

Joshua had 'graciously' chosen the title of 'Tricky Fox' for Neku, but the orange-haired male felt more like a murderous fox at the moment.

"Hey there, babe."

Neku glanced up as an obviously drunk male with brown hair, a visitor to the club rather than an aspiring member judging by his lack of costume, sat across from him clumsily.

Neku gave a disgusted look as he leaned back slightly.

Yup, alcohol.

Vodka by the smell and a lot of it.

"Aw, don't be like that." the man purred, leaning on his arms with a lazy grin.

Neku's fingers itched to grab the gun holstered at his hip beneath the skirt, but he refrained, not wanting to cause a scene.

 _Easy, Neku._ the orange-haired male thought to himself as he clenched his hands. _Bad thoughts lead to bad actions._

The man stretched a hand toward Neku, but just as his fingertips brushed against Neku's cheek, another hand lashed out and gripped the brunette's wrist.

Surprised, Neku glanced beside him to see a smiling Joshua holding the man's wrist.

"I'm afraid this pretty fox is mine, sir." Joshua explained pleasantly, amethyst eyes playful yet still holding a murderous intent within them. "You will have to take your hunt somewhere else."

Joshua shoved the brunette's wrist away, effectively causing the man to tumble to the floor.

The brunette held his wrist, gazing at Joshua skeptically as he wondered whether he could take the brat in a fight, before stumbling to his feet and wandering off, mumbling to himself.

Joshua sighed as he took the previously occupied seat, idly flicking at one of the bunny ears on his hood.

"Now, Neku, you have to watch out for people like that."

"I was handling it just fine." Neku growled, glaring at Joshua. "Stop trying to act like a hero."

Joshua half-heartedly shrugged before abruptly hopping to his feet.

"I'll get us some drinks."

"We are not drinking!" Neku called as Joshua skipped off.

"I'm getting water!" Joshua answered as he easily weaved his way through the crowd and disappeared into the mass.

Neku sighed, dropping his head into his hands.

This was an awful mission so far.

"Hey, kid."

Neku glanced up to see a burly male in his early thirties standing near the table.

"Boss wants to see you."

 _Boss?_ Neku wondered before his eyes widened. _Could he mean Sota and Nao?_

* * *

Neku groaned as he opened his eyes only to see darkness engulfing him.

He felt shackles around his wrists, a chain connecting him to another person beside him as he could feel their body heat next to him.

Neku frowned slightly as he heard soft talking and whimpering, not quite sure where he was, but he could smell must so he suspected he was either in a basement or underground somewhere.

Something brushed against his right arm, Neku realizing that it was the person beside him.

"Dear?"

Neku started slightly at the soft voice.

"Joshua?" Neku glanced to his right a bit. "Where are we?"

"I am uncertain. I remembered you were gone when I returned to the table so I began searching for you and a man approached me."

Neku mentally groaned.

The man. Of course.

"What a rookie move. We're at an auction."

"So the rumors of human trafficking are true, then."

"Yes. But how do we get out of this?" Neku pulled on the chains lightly before he paused as he remembered something.

Didn't he still have….?

"The bidding will now start." A male's voice announced as Neku wiggled his fingers beneath the arm warmer on his left arm. "The first item will be the Loyal Dog!"

Neku finally found the lock pick he had confiscated from Joshua earlier that day and had brought it with him in case of an emergency.

He started feeling around for the lock on the shackles.

"And sold to the gentleman in the back!"

Joshua frowned slightly as he felt Neku's arms moving.

"What exactly are you doing, dear?"

"Shh."

"Next up: the Playful Rabbit!"

Neku tensed up, feeling Joshua do the same, and began picking at the lock faster while maintaining some sense that he knew what he was doing.

"We'll start at a million yen!"

Joshua snorted softly, muttering, "I am worth _way_ more than that."

Neku resisted the urge to tell Joshua that this was not the time to complain about how much he was worth as he finally managed to open the shackle on his left wrist before beginning to work on the right.

"Two million yen!"

Neku caught the shackles before they could fall to the floor and give away what he was doing, touching the side of Joshua's hand with the lock pick, feeling the ash-blond immediately take the small hook.

"Three million yen!"

Neku remained still, waiting for Joshua to give him a sign that he had gotten the handcuffs off.

Finally, he felt a touch to his hand.

"And so—"

Joshua and Neku both stood up, yanking off the blindfolds and brandishing their badges.

"SCIB! Nobody move!"

The people in the room all froze before someone shouted "Cops!" and everyone scattered with panicked yells.

Neku's eyes immediately locked onto Sota and Nao, the girl grabbing the cash box as the duo fled with everyone else.

"Joshua, free the others! I'll stop Sota and Nao!"

"Roger that." Joshua responded as Neku leaped down from the small stage and began chasing after the duo.

* * *

Neku panted as he turned into the Udagawa back streets, Sota several feet ahead of him with Nao further ahead of Sota.

The orange-haired male had a lot of stamina, but even he was certain Sota had to tire out sometime.

Sota dashed up the steps leading to a mural that had been painted by the famous artist CAT, taking two at a time, before he suddenly stopped and whirled around, aiming a gun at Neku.

Neku abruptly froze in the center of the stairs as his knees locked up against his will.

Neku struggled to get himself moving again, staring Sota down as he hid his growing panic.

Why wouldn't he move? He had been faced with guns several times before so why was he choking now?

Sota fired.

"Neku!"

Neku grunted as he was shoved to the ground, barely registering someone above him or the fact that they snatched his gun from the holster and began firing back at Sota.

Sota turned and fled around the corner, the bullets burying themselves in the wall.

Joshua sighed as he sat back on his knees before looking at Neku.

"Are you all right, dear?"

Neku blinked as he slowly sat up, still in a state of shock.

"Y-you could have died trying to save me…"

Joshua smiled softly.

"That's what you do when you're partners. You have to trust your partner to make it through everything you come across."

Neku remained silent as he reflected on Joshua's advice.

Joshua stood up only to drop to one knee, holding onto his left shoulder when he felt sharp pain rip through it.

Neku immediately went to his side, looking worried.

"Josh?!"

Joshua reached over his shoulder to touch his shoulder blade, where he felt the majority of the burning pain, and brought back red fingertips.

"I think I got shot…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeahhhhhh, cliffy you fuckers! Suck on my cliffy!
> 
> *rolls around* Okay, I'm hungry, so I'm keeping this short.
> 
> Like I said, part 1 of 2. It might be a bit before I update again, however I'm not waiting for reviews anymore.
> 
> I realized this is fun so I don't care about reviews and I'll update either every 10 days or every 2 weeks; depends on what I have to do and it's nearing the end of the semester for me and I have a 9 page paper due at the end of this month and I only have 7 (technically 6 since it's not at the end of the 7th page) and I have quizzes and finals to study and shit so...yeah. -.-
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. :3
> 
> Please Read and Review. :D


	6. Blood and Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooo finally got chapter 6 done!
> 
> Yeah, you know, I don't really care who's reviewing and who's not. I know my bestest buddy is though! Thank you~!
> 
> Anyway, I got nothing more to say except two more weeks of school, baby! Then I'm a free woman!
> 
> I don't own TWEWY. ):
> 
> Also to BleedingDestruction, feel free to draw them xD I'd like to see it up on Tumblr or Deviantart if you got them :3
> 
> Please Read and Review.

Nao glanced behind her as Sota caught up to her and laughed.

"Did you get them, baby?"

"I got at least one. Let's ditch this city and—"

Nao and Sota skidded to a stop when a police car screeched to a halt in front of them, sirens shrieking, and Kariya stepped out of the passenger side.

He lazily pointed a gun at the duo, announcing, "Hands up, punks."

Sota scowled slightly, hand slowly reaching back to grab the gun resting in his back pocket, but thought better of it when more cops showed up and cocked their pistols at him.

Nao dropped the cash box as she held up her hands, Sota gradually following suit.

* * *

"You're bleeding!"

"Yes, thank you for the observation, dear."

Josh winced as Neku put his hands to the wound in an attempt to halt the blood.

"Really, dear, it's fine."

"Don't tell me it's fucking fine! You're fucking bleeding from a bullet wound!"

Josh blinked in mild surprise at Neku's frantic tone, but kept silent, allowing Neku to do as he pleased.

Neku's mind was racing.

He was struggling to concentrate, figure out how to stop the bleeding, but the images of blood, black wings, and the feeling of a weakly breathing body held against his chest wouldn't let him go.

"Take off your shirt."

Josh started slightly, looking at Neku in astonishment.

"Uh, what?"

"Take off the parka and the tank top beneath it." Neku repeated sharply, scowling at Josh. "Now!"

Normally, Josh would have cracked a joke about Neku wanting him to strip, but he decided against it when he saw Neku's face.

Slowly, Josh did as he was told, wincing when he lifted his arm above his head.

Neku snatched the black tank top from Josh, pressing it to the wound after wadding it up, ignoring the soft hiss of pain from the ash-blond.

Keeping the clothing article against the injury with one hand, Neku pressed the parka against the tank top.

Josh watched quietly, fascinated by how fast Neku was working to stop the bleeding by making a makeshift sling.

Neku sighed as he finished tying the parka, checking to make sure the tank top would stay, before sitting back.

"That should work while we wait for the ambulance."

Josh admired the sling, intrigued that Neku—who obviously had no medical history—could create one so fast and efficiently.

"Thank you, dear." Josh chuckled, glancing at Neku with a faint smile. "I feel better already."

Neku remained silent, staring at Josh's arm seriously, before he frowned slightly when he noticed two white wings tattooed onto Josh's upper left arm.

He shook his head, deciding not to question the tattoo, glancing up quickly when he heard several footsteps running toward them,

Neku automatically reached for the gun at his side, fearing the worst, before relaxing when he noticed Sanae, Kariya, and Uzuki jogging up.

"Are you both all right?" Sanae asked as he, Uzuki, a Kariya paused several feet away.

"Yeah, we're fine." Neku nodded, immediately putting up his indifferent façade to hide his panic. "Josh got shot, though."

"Shot?!" Sanae yelped, barely hearing Josh's muttered, "I'm fine, honestly."

"The ambulance has an ETA of two minutes." Kariya informed as he flipped his black phone shut.

* * *

Neku had to resist pacing.

It had been a few hours since the group had arrived at the hospital and they had been notified that Josh was still in surgery to remove the bullet, check for damage, and stitch up the entry wound.

Eri and Shiki had heard about Josh's injury and had come to the hospital along with Rhyme and Beat.

They all waited anxiously in the waiting room for notification of Josh's release.

Beat had since left, explaining quickly that he had to head to work. Rhyme saw him off then returned to her place beside Neku, silently attempting to comfort him with her presence.

Neku had washed off Josh's blood from his hands but he could still faintly smell the coppery tang, which didn't help with trying to banish the memories invading his mind.

" _Let me go! He's my friend! !"_

Neku closed his eyes, taking a breath to keep himself calm.

Josh would be okay.

Sanae stood up, muttering something about getting a drink, and left the waiting room.

* * *

Sanae started slightly when the Pepsi can dropped down, a gunshot echoing in his mind.

He looked at the can for several minutes stupidly, wondering why it was there as he didn't remember choosing it, before he covered his face with a soft groan, giving a shudder.

"I'm so sorry…Kazuki, I'm sorry…"

* * *

Shiki and Eri returned home first.

Then Rhyme departed and Uzuki had left several minutes ago.

Sanae, Kariya, and Neku were the only ones left in the waiting room to hear news about how Josh was doing.

It was quiet, the only noise coming from the TV nearby, its volume low with black captions appearing on the lower half of the screen for those hard of hearing.

Kariya sighed, becoming unnerved with the silence, and glanced at Sanae.

"Hey, Hanekoma. Why did Josh join the SCIB anyway?"

Sanae started slightly, as if taken out of his thoughts, glancing at Kariya before looking away with a sigh.

"I'm not sure. I offered him the job because we were friends from our time in the military."

"You were in the military?" Neku questioned, looking at Sanae in confusion.

Sanae nodded. "I joined when I was twenty and left when I was twenty-nine, shortly before Konishi became the Director and I became the team leader. I was twenty-eight when I met Josh who was twenty at the time. He apparently joined to defy his parents who had recently disowned him because of his career choice; Josh had been out of the army for little over six months when I offered the position to him."

"His parents disowned him?" Kariya asked. "Because he wanted to be in the army?"

"He also wanted to be in law enforcement." Sanae explained, idly tapping the side of his half-finished Pepsi can before taking a sip. "You see, his parents are millionaires. They wanted him to take over the family business."

"He's fucking rich?!"

"Why would he leave, then?" Neku asked quietly. "He had his life set. Why would he join the army and SCIB when he wouldn't have had to work a day in his life?"

Sanae shrugged. "He never said. He just mentioned he wanted to be rebellious and he hated all the rules his parents forced on him."

"I see." Neku gazed at the ground before looking up, quickly getting to his feet when the doctor entered the room. "How is he?"

"He's fine. Very lucky, I have to say. He was hit with a .380 acp bullet, but it didn't go past the scapula or ruin any arteries."

"When can he get out?" Sanae questioned.

"Two to three weeks. He'll need to keep the sling on for three months to allow the skin and bone to heal. After that, he should be fine. No lasting damage or rehabilitation."

"Can we see him?" Kariya asked, receiving a nod from the doctor.

"Of course. Follow me."

The trio followed the doctor to a room, the doctor opening the door to allow them in.

Josh sat in his bed, arm in a sling and white gauze bandages wrapped around his shoulder, an IV drip in his other arm.

Josh glanced up when he heard the door open and grinned.

"Hey, guys. What do I owe this pleasure?"

"How are you feeling?" Sanae questioned.

Josh shrugged his right shoulder.

"Pretty good. The pain meds have kicked in."

"You do realize I won't have you on any cases till you heal."

Josh sighed, raising up his right hand as he shook his head slightly.

"Honestly, Sanae. I am not made of porcelain. I'll be fine."

Sanae hesitated before giving a defeated groan.

"All right. But only simple cases. Harder cases, I'll be benching you."

"Fine, fine."

"We were all worried about ya, man." Kariya said. "We're glad you're all right."

"Apologies." Josh chuckled. "I didn't mean to worry any of you. Especially you, Nekky."

Neku blushed faintly and Josh smirked slightly, satisfied that he had gotten the reaction he wanted, not at all fazed when the orange-haired man scowled seconds later.

"I wasn't worried!" Neku snapped irritably, stomping out of the room.

Josh snickered to himself, resting his hand on the side of the sling as he watched Neku leave.

He knew Neku would return, if he were truly concerned for the ash-blond male's health.

* * *

"Oh, I knew you'd return, dear!"

Neku scowled irritably as he shut the door.

"Sanae forced me. Don't read too much into it."

Josh sighed as he rested his cheek in his right hand.

"I'm honored to be graced by your presence either way."

Neku huffed, plopping down in the chair beside the bed, his eyes falling on Josh's meal of mashed potatoes, green beans, and what appeared to be chicken nuggets.

"You haven't eaten?"

"Ah, well, you see…" Josh uselessly waved his left wrist. "I'm left-handed, so eating with my right hand is quite difficult."

Josh paused before he slowly smiled as a thought entered his mind.

"Feed me, Nekky."

"Stop calling me that!" Neku growled, glaring at Josh. "And like hell I'd feed you!"

Josh ignored Neku's statement, patiently opening his mouth.

Neku scowled, picking up a spoonful of mashed potatoes and roughly shoving them in Josh's mouth.

"Feed your fucking self!"

Josh watched impassively as Neku stormed out of the ropm, pulling the spoon from his mouth.

The ash-blond smirked as the door to his room clicked close.

"Oh, yeah. He wants me."

* * *

" _Nii-san!"_

_An eighteen-year-old Sanae paused, glancing behind him as he was tackled around the waist by a ten-year-old brunette._

" _Kazuki," Sanae picked up the boy by the back of the shirt. "What are you doing?"_

_"Wanna come with you!" Kazuki grinned, not even fighting to get out of Sanae's grasp._

_Sanae frowned slightly._

" _I told you that you can't. It's too dangerous. I'm fighting the leader of a rival gang and I don't want you to see."_

_Kazuki gave a whine, pouting._

" _Aww! All right..."  
_

_Sanae set Kazuki on his feet, heading to the front door._

_Kazuki's onyx eyes widened as he remembered something, grabbing Sanae's hand._

" _Wait, wait!"_

_Sanae sighed patiently as he turned to Kazuki, gazing down at Kazuki gently._

" _Yes, Kazu?"_

_Kazuki made a 'come here' motion and Sanae crouched down to get eye-level with his younger brother, blinking when a pair of sunglasses were shoved onto his face._

" _They make you look hip!"_

_Sanae gave a small laugh, ruffling Kazuki's hair as he stood up._

" _Thanks. I'll treasure them."_

_Kazuki beamed._

" _How about once I'm done with the Garage Wolves' leader we go to the park?"_

_"Yeah!"_

* * *

_Sanae and the leader of the Garage Wolves faced off against each other, guns aimed at the other._

_Sanae scowled._

" _You know bringing a gun is against the rules!"_

_"Oi, you're packin' heat, too, Sanae!"_

_"Cause I knew you'd cheat!"_

_Sanae growled to himself as he kept his aim steady._

" _Nii-san!"_

_Sanae started as Kazuki ran between him and the Garage Wolves' leader._

" _Kazuki?!"_

_Two gunshots rang out, a bullet cutting a small gash in Sanae's cheek while the other bullet—the one from Sanae's pistol—buried itself in Kazuki's head._

_Sanae watched in horror as his younger brother crumpled to the ground._

_His hands fell limp as the Wolves leader fled, the gun clattering to the concrete._

" _Ka-Kazuki! !"_

* * *

Sanae startled awake, his feet that had been propped up on the desktop falling to the floor.

Alarmed, Sanae glanced around the darkened office, the only light coming from the lamp on his desk.

He sighed, realizing he had fallen asleep at the precinct while filling out a case file on Noise.

Sanae rested his elbows on his desk, burying his face in his hands as he began to sob quietly.

"It was an _accident_ …"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh...so it worked at one time to allow two exclamation points side by side...wonder what happened to that...
> 
> ... *shrugs* Oh well.
> 
> Anyway I hope you enjoyed. And yay, you get to see a bit of Sanae's past! :D
> 
> Hope you look forward to the next chapter.
> 
> Please Read and Review. :)


	7. Reaper's Suicide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa! Finally, right? Sorry for the long wait, guys, it's summer vacation for me and I've been so lazy and stuff.
> 
> On the other hand! I got 2 B+, 1 B, and 1 B- for my semester grades! Whooooooo! Go me, college girl! Yeah. Trust me, it's better than last semester to which I got three Cs and a B. But in college, you gotta get C or higher to count and one class was a C-so it doesn't count, but my counselor told me what to do so yeah. :D
> 
> Anyway, sorry for the wait, I hope you enjoy and all that jazz.
> 
> I don't own TWEWY. ):
> 
> Please Read and Review. :D

Sanae paused as he came into the break room, watching Josh continue struggling to reach a mug in the cupboard.

"Uh, Josh? What are you doing?"

"Well, I dislike the vending machine coffee so I made myself a pot of French vanilla coffee." Josh stood on his tiptoes, still straining to reach the cup. "Do you want one, too?"

"No, I'm fine." Sanae chuckled, amused as Josh pressed his hips against the countertop in an attempt to get as close to the cupboard as possible, fingertips barely brushing the cup's handle. "Need some help there, Josh?"

"No, I got it." Josh tried reaching again before finally dropping to his feet, placing a hand on the countertop to balance himself. "…I need help."

Sanae laughed, reaching up to grab the cup, and handed it to Josh.

"Here you go."

Josh smiled slightly, taking the cup and heading toward the coffee machine.

Sanae watched him, eyes falling on the sling supporting Josh's left arm.

It had been a day since Josh had been released from the hospital and he seemed to be adjusting well with one arm.

There were only a handful of cases the past two weeks which hadn't given the team a lot to do to take their minds off Josh being in the hospital.

"How's your shoulder?"

Josh stopped pouring his coffee, glancing at his shoulder before he shrugged.

"It's fine. They gave me pain meds to take if it hurts."

"That's good."

Josh nodded absently as he finished filling his cup, setting the coffee pot back where it belonged.

* * *

Rhyme usually stayed in the forensics room, doing who knows what, but currently she was sitting beside Josh and showing him the songs on her iPod.

"Wow, you have a lot of Gackt." Josh commented.

"He's my favorite singer. I always get the newest record from Towa Records the day they come out."

Josh chuckled. "That's real devotion."

"I like all their songs." Rhyme smiled.

"Oh, Superchick. I've heard a few of their songs." Josh tapped his chin. "I can't remember the title to this one song, but I do remember a few lyrics"

"Can you tell me? Maybe I know it."

Josh nodded slightly, humming a bit as he drummed the side of his leg.

" _Stand in the rain, stand your ground. Stand up when it's all crashing down. You stand through the pain, you won't drown_ …"

"It's _Stand in the Rain_."

Josh and Rhyme looked up simultaneously to see Kariya standing nearby, leaning against a wall with his arms folded.

"It's _Stand in the Rain_ by Superchick." Kariya repeated, pushing up his glasses slightly as he pulled a sucker from his pocket.

"Oh, right." Rhyme grinned. "Thanks, Kariya!"

Kariya nodded vaguely as he turned and headed back into the examination room, placing the sucker in his mouth, raspberry flavor tingling his tongue.

" _She won't make a sound_." Kariya whispered to himself as he entered the room. " _Alone in this fight with herself and the fears whispering if she stands, she'll fall down._ "

Kariya headed over to a nearby desk, opening a drawer and pulling out a small notebook that contained autopsy notes.

" _She wants to be found. The only way out is through everything she's running from._ "

He stared blankly at the silver gun the notebook had uncovered, remembering the taste of cold steel against the roof of his mouth, before shutting the door.

" _Wants to give up and lie down._ "

* * *

Neku kicked down the door to the house, entering immediately with his gun drawn, Josh behind him.

Uzuki entered the living room, calling, "Living room's clear!"

Neku checked the kitchen; clear.

Neku headed upstairs, Josh following behind him as he had been ordered to at least stay behind either Neku or Uzuki for protection.

Minutes earlier the SCIB had received a call about a disturbance and gunshots, so they had gone to check it out.

So far the house appeared empty.

"Check the bathroom and that bedroom." Neku ordered, pointing to the bedroom. "I got this one."

Josh nodded, heading to the bathroom first.

Neku nudged open the bedroom door, poking his gun in first before slowly entering, looking around.

He spotted the man and woman by the bed, both shot execution style.

Neku crouched by them, not touching them, frowning when he noticed something.

Both had a set of bat-like wings—the man's gold and the woman's black—on their upper left arm.

The black wings looked like…

Neku gritted his teeth.

Reapers.

"You find something?"

Neku started slightly, looking toward the door to see Josh standing at the threshold.

He had forgotten he was on a case.

"Yes." Neku stood up, remaining indifferent. "A male and female, mid-30s. Shot once each in the head with a .22."

"Not a domestic dispute, then."

"No, it's murder. Someone who definitely wanted them dead."

Neku brushed past Josh, heading downstairs with the other trailing behind him.

He paused when he heard a noise in a nearby closet, glancing at Josh who nodded.

Josh had heard it, too.

The two approached the closet where the shuffling and sniffing noises continued, Josh grasping the handle.

Neku nodded and Josh opened the door, Neku immediately raising his gun.

The blond eight-year-old stared at them with huge eyes, sniffing pathetically.

Neku slowly lowered his weapon, glancing at Josh who looked just as confused.

* * *

"What's your name?"

"Yuki Alster."

Yuki sat at the table in the interrogation room, holding onto a can of 7up, kicking his legs back and forth.

Neku sat across from him, setting a file on the tabletop.

"Mister, where are my parents?"

"Dead."

In the observation room, Josh and Sanae facepalmed.

Neku was too blunt.

"Why am I here?"

"You're a witness. Now, what happened?"

"Mom and dad were acting weird and when there was a knock at the door they told me to hide in the closet and not make a sound."

"After that?"

"Talking. Like, soft. Keeping a secret voices." Yuki shrugged. "Then I heard them go upstairs and there were loud noises then it was silent and you guys showed up."

"Mm-hm. Do you know anybody who'd want to hurt your parents?"

"Uh-uh."

Neku slammed a hand on the table as his patience ran out, standing up.

"You do know! I know your parents—"

"Neku."

Neku looked toward the door to see Sanae standing at the threshold.

Sanae motioned him to follow and Neku reluctantly trailed after the part-time barista, taking the folder with him, as Josh entered the room.

"Sanae—"

"Neku, he's eight. You can't treat him like a suspect."

"But he _is_ a suspect!" Neku protested as Sanae sat at his desk.

Neku glanced around before he leaned closer to Sanae.

"His parents were part of the Reapers."

Sanae sighed. "Neku, your obsession with the Reapers—"

"I have a right to be obsessed!"

"You don't know that his parents—"

"I saw the marks on their arms. The wings looked like those wings. I want this case and the file."

Sanae sighed, resting his chin in his hands.

"I can't always give you the files that you think are related to the Reapers. What I can do for this one is put the boy into your care until we work out the paperwork for foster care, seeing as he has no other relatives."

"What?! Sanae—"

"You are to watch him. That's an order."

Neku gave up protesting, shooting Sanae a death glare as he stomped back to the interrogation room.

Neku paused as he came back into the room, dropping the folder he held, astonished at the sight before him.

The table was turned onto its side with Josh perched on the top of it, legs crossed and right hand keeping himself supported.

Yuki held a sword and shield made out of cardboard in both hands, Kariya standing in front of him.

Yuki started swiping at Kariya with the fake weapon, making swishing noises as Kariya stepped back slightly with a low growl.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Kariya glanced up just as Josh did, looking surprised.

"Uh, boss—"

"Hiyah!" Yuki thrust the sword forward, Kariya automatically pinning the sword between his chest and left arm, turning slightly before collapsing dramatically.

"I am defeated!"

Yuki grinned, hopping onto Kariya's chest who grunted, but remained in his death state.

"I have defeated the mighty dragon, princess!"

Josh chuckled, leaping down from the table and crouching in front of Yuki.

"My hero." Josh murmured, kissing Yuki's cheek.

Yuki giggled, giving a squeal when Kariya sat up, holding the young blond in his arms.

Neku looked between the group, still at a loss for what to say.

"We were playing 'Rescue the Princess from the Dragon'." Josh explained with a wave of his hand. "He got bored waiting so we entertained him."

"I don't care what happened!" Neku snapped. "This is completely unprofessional!"

Kariya glanced to the side, attempting to look ashamed, but couldn't hide the smile.

"C'mon, kid. You're staying with me till this case is done."

Yuki gave a soft whine as Kariya released him, glancing back at Josh and Kariya as Neku grabbed his hand.

"Why would Sanae…" Kariya mused as the two left.

"I think it's to teach Neku a lesson." Josh muttered. "To not treat everyone like a suspect."

* * *

Yuki looked around in awe as Neku grabbed a blanket and pillow from the nearby closet.

"You live here?"

"Yes." Neku answered. "With Shiki, who is at a sleepover."

"Is she your girlfriend?"

"No. My friend."

"Oh." Yuki idly began walking around as Neku dropped the blanket and pillow on the couch.

He paused when he spotted something.

"Oi, kid, get over here."

"Who's this?"

"What?" Neku turned slightly to see Yuki holding a picture of a twelve-year-old Neku standing beside a brunette the same age, arm slung around his shoulders, both of them grinning.

"Give me that." Neku snatched the picture from Yuki, scowling as he shoved the photo in his pocket.

"Who is it?" Yuki repeated innocently, staring at Neku curiously.

"…His name was Kane."

"Where is he?"

"Dead."

"How'd he die?" Yuki questioned as Neku picked him up and dropped him on the sofa.

That caused Neku to freeze, a faint pained expression flickering across his eyes.

"He was…"

_Murdered._

"…In an accident."

"Oh." Yuki looked down, kicking out a leg. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah. Me, too."

Yuki snuggled into the blankets as Neku headed to his room.

"Goodnight."

Neku gave a noncommittal grunt as he disappeared around the corner.

Once inside his room, Neku pulled out the crumpled photo, staring at it before dropping it into the nearby wastebasket and leaning against his desk.

He rubbed his eyes before glancing down, noticing a small dusty box, and ran a hand across it to clear off the dust.

Neku's eye widened slightly and he glanced back at his door.

"Hey, kid."

Yuki glanced up sleepily to see Neku standing at the threshold to the hallway.

Neku held up a game board with a faint smile.

"Know how to play Tin Pin?"

* * *

"Oh, you beat me again."

"Take that, Mr. Neku! I'm the Tin Pin Master!"

"Best two out of three."

"Okay!"

Josh, Kariya, and Uzuki watched as Neku and Yuki played another round of Tin Pin, all three of them stunned.

"Is he—" Uzuki started.

"Playing Tin Pin." Kariya nodded.

"He's—"

"Smiling." Josh confirmed.

"The world is ending." Kariya decided.

"He's only been watching that kid for a day!" Uzuki protested. "How the hell did they bond so fast?!"

"Hey, guys!" Sanae greeted as he entered the room, dragging in a person wearing a black hoodie with the hood covering their face. "Guess who I caught!"

"A guy in a hoodie?" Josh questioned with a grin while Kariya snickered.

"No." Sanae scowled at Josh. "This guy here may be connected to the deaths of Yuki's parents."

* * *

"Are you a Reaper?"

There was a slight twitch from the mysterious hoodie guy and Neku smirked.

Yes. Definitely a Reaper.

"Were Yuki's parents Reapers?"

No response.

Neku scowled.

So far the guy hadn't even spoken since the interrogation had started and Neku was growing irritated.

"Did you kill them?"

The Reaper remained silent, arms still crossed.

Neku scowled, standing up to rant, but was stopped by Josh entering the room.

"Neku, dear, why don't you let me try the interrogation?"

Neku scowled, looking between Josh and the Reaper before reluctantly leaving the room.

As soon as the door shut, Josh's grin dropped and he approached the table, lifting up the sleeve of his left arm slightly.

The Reaper's arms dropped.

"You're—"

"I know who I was. Now," Josh leaned his right hand on the table. "You're going to tell me everything you know about Yuki's parents."

* * *

Neku tried the door to the observation room, scowling when he found that it was locked.

He gave a frustrated grunt, banging on the door once.

Neku could have sworn the door was unlocked.

Just as Neku was about to take out the keys to unlock the door he heard a gunshot and immediately bolted to the interrogation room door, throwing it open to see Josh pressed against the wall and the Reaper on the floor bleeding out from a gunshot wound to the head.

"What the hell happened?!"

"H-he shot himself!" Josh yelped. "I told him to tell me what he knew about Yuki's parents and once he had he said they would kill him for being a traitor and he shot himself!"

"All right, calm down." Neku grumbled, turning slightly. "Let's get clean-up in here."

Josh nodded shakily, following after Neku.

Once Neku's back was to him, Josh glanced back at the Reaper's body with a faint smirk.

* * *

_So Yuki's parents were ex-Reapers…_ Neku thought as he stared at the file of the current case resting on his lap. _That Reaper had a set of black wings on his left arm like the wife. Those wings must signify you're a part of the Reapers. But whatever information that Reaper had about the gang's leader is dead with him._

Neku sighed, rubbing his eyes.

_But why are the wings different colors? Does that symbolize rank? What do black wings mean? Gold…?_

He shut the file.

_I'll look and collaborate with the other files._

"Neku."

Neku glanced up to see Sanae standing in front of him.

"The foster care representative is here for Yuki."

"Oh." Neku set the file on the table, sitting up. "I'll…"

He got to his feet.

"I'll go say goodbye, then."

Sanae nodded, watching Neku leave the room.

"Mr. Neku!" Yuki clung to Neku's leg.

"Hey." Neku awkwardly patted Yuki's head. "I hear you're leaving."

"Uh-huh!"

"You'll be good, I hope."

"Yes, sir!"

"Good."

Yuki let his leg go and waved, heading toward the building's entrance where a brunette in her early thirties waited patiently.

Halfway there Yuki stopped and ran back to Neku, taking something out of his pocket.

"Here, Mr. Neku!"

Neku took what Yuki held out to him, seeing a black pin with a white skull on it.

"It's a Player Pin! Daddy says it brings good luck!"

"Oh. Well, thank you." Neku smiled faintly, dropping the pin in his pocket. "I'll take good care of it."

From where he stood, Josh scowled at the sight of the Player Pin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo, long chapter.
> 
> Uhh, let's see...might be a while before I get up the next chapter cause you know, lazy me. And I'm trying to focus on my original more than this, but I'll try to do both, okay?
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed.
> 
> Please, Read and Review. :)


	8. Reappearance of Ra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So apparently I had forgotten that I had done this chapter a looong time ago and I didn't put it up for some strange reason. But this is fine since I'm starting up with WNB,JB again! So consider this chapter a welcome back chapter. :3
> 
> I was going to put it up yesterday but for some reason after I turned on my laptop my back gave out so I couldn't do much :/ My back still hurts today in the same spot. Not as much pain but it's still considerable to prevent me from bending and getting up easily. Probably if it still hurts Tuesday morning, I'll go to the doctor but it's probably something silly; I'd rather be safe than sorry though.
> 
> Anyway, enough about me, here's the chapter! :D
> 
> I hope you enjoy it. And remember to Read and Review. :)

Neku closed the drawer to Sanae's desk, looking around. He could have sworn he put the Player Pin somewhere. Neku huffed to himself as he stood up, frustrated at losing the pin within a day of receiving it.

Neku headed toward the break room to get something to drink, pausing when he passed Joshua's desk as he noticed several small pieces scattered on the desktop.

Puzzled, he picked up one of the shards, looking at it and noticing that one side was black. The piece was smooth, just like the Player Pin.

Neku scowled, wondering why Joshua would destroy the Player Pin that Yuki had given him. His thoughts halted though when he spotted something among the pieces.

Neku picked up the item, turning it over and inspecting it closely. It appeared to be a microchip of some sort, like a GPS or transmitter.

Frowning slightly, Neku looked between the chip and the pieces of the Player Pin. Why would a transmitter be inside a pin? And why would Yuki's father give him the pin with such a thing inside anyway?

* * *

"You know you could have told me you accidentally stepped on the pin…" Neku grumbled as he worked on trying to get the pin into some sort of pin-like semblance.

"Apologies, dear. But you wouldn't have believed me even if I had told you, now would you?"

Joshua was inspecting the transmitter, trying to figure out what exactly it was. The ash-blond, upon being confronted about the destroyed Player Pin, had admitted to stepping on the pin, not seeing it lying on the ground.

Though Joshua knew that the word accidental should have been in quotation marks, but the less Neku knew the better.

"It's nice to see you two working together," Sanae said, coming up to the two with a cup of coffee in each hand.

"Believe me, I don't want to." Neku mumbled, fiddling with a piece in an attempt to get it to stick.

Joshua just smiled, purposely brushing his arm against Neku's, watching in amusement as he jumped at the contact.

What was put together of the pin crumbled at the disruption.

Neku slammed his hands on the table, glaring at Joshua who held up his right hand innocently.

"Dammit! You—"

"Coffee?" Sanae asked, interrupting Neku before the fight could escalate.

Neku scowled at Sanae before glowering at the coffee cups. He snatched one as Joshua took the second one.

They both took a drink only to gag and glare at their cups in disgust.

"Still no good?" Sanae questioned as the cups were thrown in the trash.

"Tasted worse than the first one!" Neku snapped, pulling out a piece of spearmint gum from his pocket.

"Perhaps a little more sugar," Joshua suggested.

"Oh, good idea," Sanae said as he walked off. "I'll try it."

"Someday his coffee is going to kill me…" Neku muttered as he finally managed to get the pin back into its original shape. "Ah!"

The pin once again shattered.

"Ugh." Neku thunked his head on the table in defeat.

"There, there, dear." Joshua said, patting Neku's back.

"Hand off before I shoot it off."

Joshua quickly retracted his hand.

"So is that transmitter working?"

"No. Looks like it got smashed as well, I'm afraid."

Neku sighed, resting his chin on his arms. "Why would there be a transmitter in the pin Yuki had anyway…?"

"I'm not certain." Joshua lied. Of course he knew what exactly the transmitter did.

"Excuse me."

Both Neku and Joshua looked up to see a cop holding a tall male by the handcuffs pinning his arms behind his back.

"Where should I put him?"

"What is he in for?" Neku asked, standing up.

"Drug dealing."

"Interview room."

"Of course." The cop said, starting to lead the silver-haired male away who seemed pretty passive for someone who was just arrested.

* * *

"You do realize drug dealing is a serious crime, right?"

Neku was sitting across from the silver-haired male whose name was Sho Minamimoto.

Sho glanced at Neku briefly, gold eyes bored before he resumed staring at the wall.

"You know you're free to ask for a lawyer."

"I don't need a factoring digit to answer my problems."

Finally. Sho had spoken after a half hour of silence.

"Well," Neku started, leaning his arms on the table. "Why don't you tell me your side of the story? Maybe it's a misunderstanding."

"I don't have to solve my problems for you, hectopascal!"

Neku blinked. What the hell did Sho just say?

"Repeat that…?"

Sho scowled at Neku, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. "Attention, yoctogram. I hate repeating my equations."

Neku looked at the one-way mirror behind him for support.

Joshua opened the door seconds later and Neku left the room.

"I don't understand a word he's saying!"

"Those are mathematical terms," Joshua said, looking thoughtful. "We need a translator."

"I know a bit of math."

Joshua and Neku looked behind them to see Kariya sanding nearby, hands in his pockets.

"You can interrogate him for us?" Neku asked.

Kariya shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

He entered the room, shutting the door behind him.

Neku and Joshua immediately went into the adjacent room to watch the interrogation.

Kariya sat across from the twenty-seven-year-old, looking at the file briefly. Sho watched him skeptically.

"So, you were subtracted for handing out free answers."

Sho looked surprised as Kariya's statement before he glared at him suspiciously.

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Negative."

Sho continued watching Kariya skeptically before slowly relaxing.

"Oh, he's got him." Neku said as the two began to talk.

"Maybe now we can get some answers."

Kariya nodded before standing up and leaving the room, Sho staring after him in admiration.

"Well, what'd he say?" Neku asked as Kariya entered the interrogation's side room.

"He knows a bit about the Reapers and their leader."

Neku tensed as Joshua scowled.

"He said he would give us all the information he could in exchange for dropping the charges."

Neku frowned slightly, looking at the mirror.

Sho was busily scribbling math equations on the table in magic marker.

"Fine. But make sure he gives us the information first."

"Right."

* * *

Neku lounged on his couch later that day, reading over the information Sho had given them. He hadn't known much since he had been a low rank when he had been a part of the Reapers, but it was more than enough for Neku.

The leader's name wasn't known and no one knew what he looked like since he never revealed himself so Sho didn't know how to describe the Reaper's leader; all he knew was that the leader went by Draco Cantus.

There were two types of Reapers—Harrier and Support.

Harriers were the ones that did the actual work and depending on the rank of the Harrier—Bass, Baritone, or Tenor—the work and access became larger.

Sho had shown his left arm, revealing red wings tattooed on his skin.

Every Reaper had different color wing pairs tattooed onto their left arms to show their rank red wings were the color of Support Reapers.

_You had a bad day, you're taking one down. You sing a sad song just to turn it around._

Neku looked up from the list, scowling at Joshua who was listening to his iPod without the headphones in.

"Will you turn that racket off?"

Joshua glanced at Neku before purposely turning the music higher, smiling innocently.

Neku glared as he stood up, ready to grab Joshua's iPod and smash it against the wall.

"Turn on the news!" Sanae said frantically, running into the room. "Channel 8!"

Kariya grabbed the remote, turning on the TV hanging over Sanae's desk.

"—Just arrived at the Museum of New York, stationed on Destiny Islands just off the coast."

"What just arrived-?" Neku asked but Sanae instantly shushed him.

The curator of the museum stood beside the news anchor as he began to speak.

"Ra's Vengeance will be a most beloved addition to our collection in the Egyptian wing."

"It's Ra!" Uzuki gasped as a picture of the dagger was shown.

"How did it end up there?" Joshua asked.

"Neku, Joshua, pack your bags," Sanae said, looking at the duo. "You're going to Destiny Islands, New York."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So THAT'S where the pesky dagger went. To New York! Expect to see a lot of familiar faces in hilarious places.
> 
> Anyway, I dunno when I'll get up the next chapter but I'll try to be soon. :3
> 
> Please remember to Read and Review. :)


	9. What Goes Around

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been maybe a little over a week? That's actually pretty good for me. xD Anyway, I don't much to say except that this will be a 2 part chapter. So this is the first part. I'll try to get up the 10th chapter ASAP but you know. Stupid school and stuff. :( This is like the last month or so before summer break but I'm taking summer school this year.
> 
> It only lasts a month though. :3
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy. :3 I don't own any of the characters, sadly. ):
> 
> Please Read and Review.

It was quiet in the plane as the majority of the passengers were asleep since it was late at night.

Joshua had long since fallen asleep, but Neku was still awake, looking over the information on the DICIU—the Destiny Islands Crime Investigation Unit—that Sanae had given to him before Neku and Joshua had departed for the airport.

* * *

" _Squall Leonhart will meet you at the JFK airport," Sanae explained, handing Neku and Joshua the file on the members of the DICIU which was the sister crime lab to SCIB. "He will take you two to the station where you will meet Terra, the team leader. He's an old friend of mine and is aware that you'll be arriving within forty-eight hours."_

" _What's our job while we're there?" Joshua asked as Neku began to skim the files._

_He had given up on trying to reach the file which Neku held above his head so Joshua couldn't reach it._

" _Help the team discover how Ra's Vengeance arrived at the museum. Once that's found out it will be questioned whether the dagger will remain in New York or whether it will be returned to its rightful place."_

" _Got it," Joshua nodded._

_Neku grunted in response, looking annoyed that he was the one who had to be partnered with Joshua._

* * *

Neku sighed to himself as he returned to the files in his lap.

Terra Moto was the leader of his unit. Originally from Mexico, he was the same age as Sanae and had graduated in a criminology major shortly before moving to New York. Terra still had a slight tan from his life in Mexico with brown hair falling to the base of his neck, styled into messy vertical spikes with bangs framing his face.

Two years younger than Terra, Squall 'Leon' Leonhart was one of the members of Terra's team. His shoulder-length brown hair had the bangs swept to his left. For four years, Squall had been a police officer but had changed careers two years ago for no apparent reason. A diagonal scar crossed between his steel-blue eyes, going over the bridge of his nose. A Griever necklace hung around Squall's neck

The second member of Terra's team was Axel Wilde who was three years older than Neku. He was a native of New York. Not much was known about him except his age and past priors with starting fires and even one time committing arson to an abandoned factory.

Neku scowled at Axel's picture.

He sure didn't look like a crime investigator with his red hair styled into slicked-back spikes, revealing a widow's peak, and the purple reverse-teardrop marking tattooed beneath his emerald eyes.

Two years younger than Axel, Riku Dawn was the final member of Terra's team. He was a native of the Islands but despite being born in the sun of Destiny Islands Riku had pale skin. His silver hair fell past his shoulders and his eyes were blue-green with the blue a bit more prominent than the green. Neku checked over Riku's information but it seemed like Riku was pretty decent; no priors or complaints.

Roxas was Axel's age and the DICIU's forensic analyst. He was originally from Germany; Roxas's hair was a golden blond and swept to the right while his eyes were a brighter blue than Terra's. Apparently Roxas had a twin named Ventus who lived in the same apartment as Roxas.

Aqua Glaceau was the last paper in the stack. She was the coroner and the same age as Kariya with pale blue hair cut short and blue eyes the color of the ocean.

Neku sighed as he closed the file, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Jet lag was already setting in and they were still several hours away from New York.

"Nn?" Neku glanced beside him when he felt something leaning against him, noticing Joshua practically snuggled against him.

Neku scowled, putting his hand against Joshua's head and shoving the ash-blond off him.

Joshua didn't seem too concerned about the change in teddy bears, curling up against the other side of his seat with a sigh.

Neku huffed, leaning against the other side of his chair so he was away from Joshua, crossing his arms and snuggling down to get some sleep.

* * *

A few hours later, the plane arrived at JFK airport and Joshua and Neku departed from the plane with the other passengers.

As they passed by security, they showed their passports before heading over to baggage claim to pick up their bags.

Neku looked around for signs of Squall as Joshua admired the airport like he had never seen one before.

After a bit of searching, Neku spotted Squall among the crowd, holding up a sign that declared _SCIB_ in bold black letters.

Neku approached the brunet, Joshua following after him when he noticed Neku leaving his side.

Squall lowered his sign when he saw the two approaching him.

"Neku and Joshua from SCIB?"

Neku showed his badge to confirm his identity, Joshua copying him.

Squall scanned the badges before grunting, heading toward the airport doors. "Follow me."

"All right, Leon," Joshua said.

Squall stopped, scowling at Joshua. "Call me Leon again and I'll shoot your face off."

Joshua blinked. Neku smirked.

Oh, he liked Squall.

* * *

The three took a cab to a nearby ferry dock in order to be taken to Destiny Islands.

After arriving at the dock to the Islands, they took another taxi which drove them straight to the DICIU's crime lab.

Squall lead them into the large building with tall glass windows, heading to the area where his team was stationed.

Axel appeared to be flirting with Roxas who was growing more annoyed as time went by.

Riku and Terra watched, obviously used to the two's interaction. Especially with what came next.

As Roxas was leaving, Axel casually touched the blond's butt, causing Roxas to bristle.

Axel was cornered as Roxas advanced on him, shouting at the redhead in German.

Axel held up his hands defensively, grinning a bit. "Oi, cool it. Didn't mean nothing by it, got it memorized?"

Roxas spat something nasty in German before turning and storming off.

Axel sighed, squishing up his face. "Aw, he's so cute when he's mad."

"You know he can kill you and not leave any evidence, right?" Riku asked.

"Or file sexual harassment." Terra put in.

"It'd be worth it," Axel sighed.

Neku rolled his eyes. Well, Axel certainly reminded him of someone. _Cough_ **Joshua** _cough._ Not naming names.

Terra looked up when he saw Squall and the two SCIB agents, pushing away from the wall he had been leaning against.

"You two arrived just in time," he said, handing a file to Neku. "Apparently the dagger you're interested in may have been recently used to commit a homicide we're investigating."

"How was it connected?" Neku asked as he opened the file. "Isn't Ra's Vengeance guarded well?"

"Yes. So we're not sure it was actually used to omit the murder."

"Can we see the body?"

"Of course. I'll tell Aqua we're coming down."

* * *

"Aqua."

Aqua glanced up from some paperwork, smiling a bit when she saw Terra.

"Hey, Terra. These two from the SCIB?"

"Yes. This is Joshua and that's Neku."

Joshua waved while Neku snorted.

"They wanted to see the victim."

Aqua nodded, pushing her chair back and standing up. She went toward the freezer storage wall, looking at the numbers before opening one and pulling out the tray.

"This is Olette Kinderson."

Olette was barely seventeen with brown hair that was short with two strands long enough to drape over her shoulders.

"So what was the nature of her death?" Neku asked, examining the body without touching it.

Joshua stayed at a distance, obviously not comfortable near the body.

"They found her in a box," Terra explained.

Aqua returned to her desk to get the autopsy notes on Olette.

Neku raised an eyebrow. "A box?"

"Yes. She appeared to be, well…scared to death."

"Yeah. Right."

"It's true," Aqua returned with her notes, pulling up one of Olette's eyelids to reveal a green iris. "See, the pupils are still dilated."

"You can't scare someone to death," Neku said.

"Unless she was insanely claustrophobic," Joshua hummed, seeming just as skeptical as Neku.

"True," Aqua nodded. "But I also found this."

Aqua gently turned Olette's head to the side. "See that cut?"

Neku bent down slightly to get a better look at the small cut on Olette's neck.

"This? It surely wouldn't have caused death."

"It was one of the causes of death, perhaps."

"How?"

Aqua replaced Olette's head to the original position. "Despite appearances, that cut was deep enough and precise enough to sever the spinal cord with minimal blood."

"No way," Neku mumbled. "That would suggest a practiced killer."

"Or someone who knows anatomy," Joshua suggested.

Aqua slid the tray back into the freezer, shutting the door.

"Can I have the notes on Olette?" Neku questioned, looking at Aqua.

"Of course."

* * *

Neku scanned over the autopsy notes again, taking a sip of his coffee.

The sun was already coming up. Neku hadn't slept, too invested in finding the killer before someone else was murdered.

Neku paused, looking closer at the notes.

The mark on the neck was possibly made post-mortem.

"After death?" Neku murmured to himself, reading more of the notes.

The heart had signs of a heart attack despite the heart being healthy. The heart attack may have been cause of the death. The mark was probably made to be sure the victim was dead.

"Interesting."

Neku leaned back in his chair, tapping his pencil against the pad of paper at his side.

What could have caused the heart attack? Was it really from the fear of being in a small space? The toxicity tests were clean as a whistle; if it had been a drug to cause a heart attack it was one that disappeared rapidly.

Neku picked up his phone when it rang, answering it distractedly. "What?"

"Oh, good. You're already awake," Terra said.

 _I never slept,_ Neku thought, but decided to remain quiet on that. "What do you want?"

"We just got a homicide call. A teenager's body was found in the Paopu River."

"We'll be there as fast as possible."

"Good."

Terra hung up and Neku stood, heading into the bedroom. "Wake up! There's a homicide."

Joshua grumbled to himself, rubbing his arm before sitting up. He appeared annoyed at being woken up so early which Neku took satisfaction in.

Neku didn't wait for Joshua to fully wake up, going into the bathroom to take a quick shower.

"Hurry up or I'm leaving without you!"

* * *

It didn't take long for Neku and Joshua to arrive at the Paopu River. Aqua was already checking the drenched body while Terra and his team canvassed the area for clues or spoke with a jogger who must have discovered the body.

Neku headed over to Aqua to see what she had. "What do you know?"

"Well, his name is Raijin Boltern. He's eighteen. And he didn't return to his dorm last night."

Neku looked Raijin over.

He was tan and well-built with short black hair and slight sideburns. A thunderbolt necklace hung around his neck. Raijin appeared to be death-scared like Aqua had described Olette, judging by the dilated pupils of his brown eyes.

"So let me guess," Neku said sarcastically. "Death-scared again. He was found in a river. Which make him hydrophobic."

Aqua chuckled at that. "Well, it appears so. Definitely the same killer."

Aqua turned Raijin's head, gesturing to the cut on the back of his neck.

"See? Same mark."

"Two deaths within a short time span. He's escalating," Terra said. "We need to find him fast."

Neku tapped his chin before standing up, walking away.

"Hey, where are you going?" Joshua asked, looking after Neku.

"I'm going to get Ra's Vengeance and do some research on it!"

* * *

Neku sighed. "Let me guess, he was acrophobic."

It was the third victim in a day.

Neku had been interrupted in his studying of Ra's Vengeance to come to the crime scene.

It had been difficult to obtain the knife as the curator was a bit stubborn in releasing the blade. After explaining its significance on the recent homicide cases, the curator reluctantly relinquished the knife with the proposition that he get it returned as soon as possible.

Within a few hours, Neku had discovered…nothing significant. The killer was careful. The box containing Ra's Vengeance wasn't tampered with and there weren't any fingerprints on the box or the knife handle. The blade had been wiped clean except for a few blood specks trapped between the blade and the handle. All the blood proved though was that Olette and Raijin had been cut by the knife; it didn't prove they were killed by it.

Neku had been about to do another test on the blade when he had gotten the homicide call. The victim was seventeen-year-old Tidus Maelspike. He had been discovered on the 50th floor of an office building in a glass elevator. Tidus had short sandy blond hair and blue eyes. He was death-scared like the first two victims except this time the killer had apparently been in a hurry.  
There was no knife cut to the back of the neck. Instead a puncture hole was present in the side of Tidus's neck, similar in size to a needle mark. Aqua suspected the mark was made from a needle that probably contained medicine to induce a heart attack.  
"I'll know more back at the morgue," Aqua said as she continued to examine Tidus.

Neku spotted something jutting from Tidus's pocket, pointing to it. "What's that?"

Aqua looked at the item before pulling it from Tidus's pocket. "A piece of paper?"

"See what it says," Joshua said.

Aqua unfolded the piece of paper.

**Back off or you'll regret it. –Ra**

"Someone's taking Ra's Vengeance way too seriously," Joshua mumbled.

Neku hummed to himself before quickly swiveling his head to the side when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He immediately climbed to his feet, running off.

"Hey, wait!"

"Where are you going, Neku?!" Joshua asked, getting to his feet.

Neku had already turned a corner. Joshua chased after him.

Neku continued to chase after the suspicious person he had seen watching the crime scene from around the corner of a wall. Neku turned right down a hallway, coming to a dead end with a single door that lead into a closet. He tried the door, finding it locked.

Neku turned around, puzzled. He was certain he had seen the person turn down this way. They couldn't have disappeared.

There was a sharp pain at the back of Neku's head that felt like a migraine smashing a bottle against his skull.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah just a note: Until I state otherwise, Joshua's arm will still be in the sling. I think within a few chapters is when he finally gets the sling off.
> 
> Sorry for any spelling mistakes or such; this was sort of rushed but I'm happy with it xD
> 
> Anyway, there's chapter 9 :) I hope you enjoyed.
> 
> Please Read and Review. :3


	10. Comes Around

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? A new chapter? After more than a year?
> 
> Yeah. I'm gonna try to continue this. We're about halfway through this story anyway so.
> 
> Anyway I don't own TWEWY, KH or FF. ):
> 
> Please Read and Review :3

Joshua turned the corner where he had seen Neku disappear.

He didn't see anyone down the hallway.

Joshua glanced around for any sign of Neku, only spotting some blood and shattered glass on the floor.

"Neku?"

* * *

Neku woke up with a pounding headache. He grimaced, reaching a hand up to find that his hands were bound together by shackles.

He looked at the shackles before looking around to see if he could find any clues that gave away where he was.

All Neku saw was darkness as if he were stuck in a blackhole.

Neku turned slightly when he felt the sensation of someone standing behind him. "Who's there?"

Whoever was standing behind him didn't respond, grabbing his hair to tilt his head in order to expose his neck.

Neku felt the prick of a needle being inserted into the side of his neck before he was released.

Neku looked around. "What was that for?!"

"I'll find out what makes you scared."

* * *

Joshua took a swab of the blood and had Roxas test it for him. He hoped to the gods that it wasn't Neku's.

The gods enjoyed proving him wrong.

"It's definitely Neku's," Roxas said.

"The killer must have him,' Leon said.

"How did he get into the building without us seeing?" Axel asked.

Terra hummed, crossing his arms. "Perhaps…he was already there…"

"How so?" Riku asked. "Anyone there would have been the CSI team and us."

"Exactly," Terra said. "A member of the CSI team is the killer."

"I don't get it," Axel muttered.

Riku sighed, walking off. "I'll pull up names."

"Why does the killer want Neku though?" Joshua asked. "Was he getting too close to finding out his identity?"

"It's possible," Leon said with a nod. "Or he's following through on his warning."

* * *

Neku glanced around as he slowly moved in a circle.

He was looking for any sort of darker shadow that would pinpoint the person who had him.

Something sliced his right arm, causing it to sting.

"That hurt?" the voice asked as Neku turned around faster, apparently trying to figure out what had cut him. "Good."

"Why don't you show yourself and stop hiding in the dark, you coward?"

"Coward?"

Another cut burned the side of Neku's leg, just below the knee.

"Are you sure you should be threatening me? I do have the upper hand here."

"Only because you have me in the dark and handcuffed!"

A third cut hit Neku's left forearm.

Neku turned towards where he had thought he slice had come from. He thought he saw a very faint glint in the darkness but wasn't sure if it was just his imagination.

"Are you afraid of the dark?"

Another cut got Neku's side. Neku turned towards the attack again. He could feel his heart rate start to accelerate and Neku started to piece everything together.

That was why Tidus had a needle mark.

"Or are you afraid of losing something close to you?"

"I get it now," Neku said as a slice was made in the side of his neck "You gave them something to slowly induce a heart attack and you found out their phobias. The cuts on the back of the necks was to cover the needle marks."

Another cut on his cheek.

"What happened with Tidus? Didn't have enough time to cover up the mark?"

There was a chuckle. "You're very cocky for someone who's about to die."

"The DICIU is going to find you."

"As if."

Lights suddenly turned on, temporarily blinding Neku who raised his arms to block out the light.

There was a gunshot and a scream. Someone fell from the rafters of the building.

Neku blinked as his eyes adjusted.

Police were running in, surrounding the person who had fallen from the rafters. DICIU came in followed by Joshua. Joshua was putting his gun back in its holster.

Neku sighed when he saw Terra and the others, dropping to his knees as he tried not to tremble.

"EMS is on their way," Terra said as Riku worked on unlocking the handcuffs. "They'll give you something for the drug he gave you."

Neku nodded, not trusting himself to talk. He feared his voice would crack. He looked over at the killer instead.

The man was in his mid-thirties with long black hair that had silver highlights. There was a scar on his left cheek and his right eye was covered by an eye patch.

"That's Xigbar Kauster," Leon explained. "He's a member of the CSI clean-up crew."

"It explains why there was barley any trace evidence on Ra's Vengeance," Riku said.

"So why did he start killing?" Neku asked.

"Apparently he lost his eye after fighting someone drunk," Axel sighed. "A stupid reason ta murder, if you ask me."

Neku glanced around, noticing a rig of fishing wire set around the building. A knife was attached to one of the strings.

"Nice set up," Axel said.

Riku scowled at him.

"What? I can admire it."

"Are you guys going to interview him?" Joshua asked, looking at Leon.

Leon nodded. "His leg isn't bad, so he doesn't need to stay in the hospital. Once he's patched up, he'll be taken back to the DICIU to be interrogated."

"I want to watch," Neku said. "If you don't mind."

"Not at all. Feel free."

"Thank you."

* * *

Joshua, Neku and Axel stood in the room adjacent to the interrogation room as Terra and Riku grilled Xigbar on his motives.

Neku's wounds were bandaged. They were superficial but there were quite a few and they itched.

Neku idly picked at the bandages as he watched the interrogation.

"Don't do that," Joshua murmured. "They'll get infected."

"Had worse," Neku muttered, not looking at Joshua.

"So why did you choose to kill Tidus, Olette and Raijin?" Terra asked.

"They touched the knife's box." Xigbar shrugged, leaning back in his chair.

"You killed them," Riku said slowly, "because they touched the box that Ra's Vengeance was in?"

"Yep."

"Why did you go after Neku?" Terra asked.

"I originally wanted that bubbly brunet always hanging around you." Xigbar said, grinning at Riku. "But the other one got in my way. I thought taking the brunet would scare you guys off the case."

"You would have been wrong," Riku growled, glaring at Xigbar. "I would have hunted you down like a Hellhound."

Xigbar smirked. "Scary face you got there."

"What brunet?" Neku asked, glancing at Axel.

"Sora is Riku's boyfriend," Axel said. "Riku is super protective of him."

"Ah…"

"How did you know about the knife?" Terra asked.

"I know a lot of things." Xigbar grinned. "Like the fact that the dagger was taken by someone in the Reaper gang from Shibuya."

 _Reapers…_ Neku thought, scowling.

Of course. He should have figured they would be behind the dagger's disappearance.

"How did it end up in the museum?" Riku questioned.

Xigbar shrugged. "The Reapers sold it to the owner for triple the price it's worth."

"What's going to happen to the dagger now?" Joshua asked as the interrogation wrapped up.

"It's going somewhere that it can't hurt anyone anymore," Axel said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, chapter done. Sorry for any spelling mistakes. I wanted to get this up for you guys.
> 
> I know. The JoshNeku is such a slooooowww burn. But SOON. I promise.
> 
> Anywhoo, hope you guys enjoyed it.
> 
> Please Read and Review. :)

**Author's Note:**

> End chapter 1 xD
> 
> So yeah everything will make sense as the chapters go on. :3 Pasts, who the Reapers are, etc.
> 
> Also fluffy stuff and drama and angst and all that good stuff xD
> 
> Updating this note because getting the stupid italics to work on here is ridiculous and I'm getting irritated with it so I would rather people read Not Broken, Bent on Fanfiction instead of here. Thanks!
> 
> So, please enjoy.
> 
> And remember to Read and Review. :)


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